The More Things Change
by MojoTheSpaceMonkey
Summary: His final choice wasn't good enough. Everything he had sacrificed had been for nothing. The definition of insanity is Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. Seems like it's time for a new life choice.
1. Chapter 1

Title: The More Things Change...

Chapter 1: Rock Bottom

Adam Shepard couldn't move. He had regained consciousness a few minutes ago, only to discover that he was laying on his back with a heavy weight pressing down all over his armor stopping him from even twitching. His world was black and silent, the sensory deprivation only interrupted by pain receptors firing off in random parts of his body, reminding him that he had just fought a war in the closest thing to hell on earth that mankind could imagine. He slammed his head into the side of his helmet, jarring the circuitry enough to restore power to the optics and show nothing but rubble filling his vision. "This is not how I imagined the afterlife to turn out" he muttered to himself, closing his eyes and trying to recall how he even ended up there.

 _"You must choose!" the Starchild repeated, this time with growing impatience. Shepard glanced in his direction before returning his attention towards the 3 choices that had been presented to him from the AI behind the reapers. He already knew damn well that he was on a time limit; the space battle could be seen from multiple screens surrounding the room. Alliance ships fought the reapers tooth and nail, giving no quarter as they tried to buy as much time as possible for Shepard to activate the Crucible._

 _'If only they knew…' Shepard thought to himself as he drew his attention back to the dilemma in front of him. None of the choices given were worth considering in his eyes. The destruction route would sacrifice EDI, the Geth, and any other synthetic life in the galaxy. Adam refused to consider sacrificing a whole race just for the survival of another. The domination route would just use his body and mind to create a new AI with a "better understanding" of organics. There was no guarantee that this whole process wouldn't just start all over again if the reapers were left intact. They synthesis route was the most dangerous one in that it looked like a route for harmony, forcing both organics and synthetics into a sort of hybrid existence, creating understanding through everyone being similar. Shepard couldn't bring himself to do it though since no one was given a choice, as well as the AI not even being able to guarantee that it would put an end to the conflicts. In the end, he refused to take advice from a flawed AI that had bastardized it's original mission in the first place._

 _'I'm only left with one real route, even if it isn't much of a choice…' Shepard reflected to himself as he turned towards the AI. The Starchild had turned away from him, observing the space battle as it waited for the organic to make up it's mind. It was unaware of Adam raising his pistol towards him until he heard the shot fired and felt his image disrupt. "So Be It!" echoed the voice of the AI through the huge room. Shepard could almost hear the anger and disappointment laced in it as the screens began to darken around him. Adam's final act of defiance was to raise the pistol and fire a single shot into the side of his head, denying the AI what ever its final words it had wanted to speak. After that, darkness was all he knew._

Adam was pulled back to consciousness as he felt the rubble shift around him. He almost had convinced himself that it was just a trick in his head, when he felt the weight shift off of his hand. Something tugged on his wrist, causing him to reflexively grip down on it. "Holy shit! Guys, we got a live one here! Go get some more help quickly!" Who ever had a hold of his hand, didn't let go as he felt more activity around him. The pressure on his suit gradually lessened until he was able to surge upwards, pulling himself loose. He noticed he was still in pitch black, though he now could identify people in enviro suits rushing around holding portable flashlights. "Hey buddy!," his attention was pulled back to his salarian rescuer. "What's your name and what are you doing here? We need to make a record of everyone we find while we perform search and rescue."

Shepard looked at him for a moment, not fully believing he was still in the real world. "My name is Adam," he mumbled. His suit speakers broadcast his response, along with the silence that followed. He couldn't concentrate on one thing for too long, his eyes constantly looking for danger that he was sure would pop up at any time.

The salarian gave Adam a commiserating look as he recorded the name down on his omnitool, before snapping a quick photo of Shepard to go along with it. 'The poor guy must still be shell shocked' he thought to himself as he wrapped up the interview and prepared to go back to work. "I can't stay with you" he said to the survivor. "Follow that trail of lights to reach the rescue point. We have food, water, shelter, and medical attention waiting for you there. Can you make it?" Shepard gave him a quick nod and hoisted himself up, before turning around to retrieve his weapons from the hole.

He stumbled off down the pathway, taking a moment to glance towards the sky. He was able to make out different cityscapes, some still with power, rotating overhead. This confirmed for him that he was still indeed on the Citadel. He could see many buildings on fire in the skyline, their flames lighting up the otherwise blackened ward that he was currently in. 'Something big must have knocked out the power' he thought to himself as he made his way towards the glow in the distance that signified safety. He arrived to what looked like a docking area that was overflowing with refugees. People ran too and fro searching for loved ones or trying to gain medical attention. Others just stood still, staring off into nothing, unable to cope with what they had just endured.

Adam slowly made his way through the panicked masses, finding a secluded spot behind a pillar that was only occupied by one other. A turian in a full set of familiar looking armor with a helmet on sat in the corner adjusting the sights on a viper sniper rifle. Shepard sat down across from him, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes for a moment. "Know where a guy can get a bite to eat?" he asked out loud.

He heard the turian's activity come to a halt for a moment, before picking back up again as if dismissing him. The response that followed was barely audible over the background chaos. "Can you wait for a second? I'm in the middle of making some calibrations."

Shepard's breath hitched as his eyes flew open, his pulse racing. He lurched towards the turian, causing the alien to startle and fall away from him with a squawk. "Garrus?" he croaked, his throat still raw and parched. At the turian's reluctant nod, he continued. "Don't you recognize me? I can't believe you're still alive too. I didn't think any of us would make it out of that…" He trailed off realizing that his best friend was giving him a look reserved for strangers and potential threats, his talon inching towards his rifle that had fallen next to him. "I'm sorry" he said cautiously, his brain trying to figure out what was happening as he backtracked. "I've been unconscious for the last 24 hours or so and I think I'm seeing things that aren't real." He silently resolved to himself that he wouldn't volunteer up anymore information until he had a better handle on what was going on around him.

Garrus's suspicious look transformed to one of guarded sympathy as he examined the human more closely. The burn marks, dents, and dried blood on the human's strange body armor were becoming clearly visible as the silver tint caught the light. The human had obviously gone through hell recently and needed help before anything else. He watched as the human took off his helmet and massaged the bridge of his nose with his hand. Garrus wasn't an expert in human body language yet, but any officer worth his badge could identify someone nearing their breaking point. "Look, I can't say I've met you before" he offered up, "but let's get you to medical before you go any farther. I know a great doctor from the wards that an fix you up. She owes my sister for saving her life earlier with Commander Shepard." He offered a hand to the human, pulling him up once his offer was accepted. He made note of the exotic weapons carried by the man, having never seen anything like them before. "Follow me" he gestured with his head over his shoulder, before turning and walking towards the still functioning elevators, resigning himself to the long slow ride coming up.

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6 hours later, Shepard found himself alone in a private room at the back of Dr. Chloe Michel's clinic. It had been strange meeting the doctor for the first time… again. During the initial triage she had given him in the lobby, he had stayed silent except for giving the minimal amount of necessary medical information needed to build himself a patient file. This had allowed him to eavesdrop on the doctor and the officer's conversation, about how a female version of himself named Alexis, along with Garrus's sister Solana had saved Dr Michel from a mob boss's henchman in the past. Adam had gone semi-catatonic at that point, his mind stuck in overdrive trying to make sense of a universe turned on it's head. His unresponsiveness had alarmed the doctor, prompting her to have Garrus drag the man back to a room so she could monitor his health for the time being. The turian had left afterwards to go help out with the relief effort, but not before leaving Dr. Michael with an order to let him know before she released the strange man.

After calming down, Adam found himself with nothing to do as he was left alone with his thoughts. He spent the next hour surfing the extranet for anything he could find to try to help him understand what was going on. As near as he could tell, what ever happened with the Catalyst had thrown him backwards in time to directly after Saren and Sovereign's attack on the Citadel in 2183 CE. The fact that he ended up buried in a part of the destroyed Tayseri Ward, when his confrontation with the Catalyst had been on the Presidium was something he doubted he would ever be able to explain. This had apparently worked out for him though, since the first human spectre, Alexis Shepard, had fought the rogue specter Saren Arturius there with her crew at the same time he had appeared in the wards. Him showing up as well, at the same time as the battle would have lead to questions that he didn't even want to consider. As far as he could tell, the timeline had pretty much been the same for himself and his doppelganger, besides Garrus's sister Solana joining the mission instead of Garrus himself. Apparently his best friend had stayed in C-Sec this time and had been instrumental in fighting off the geth during the invasion.

Shepard had taken off his armor to do routine maintenance on it along with his weapons. He knew once the crisis was over, C-Sec would begin either confiscating weapons or forcing people to keep them in storage. He doubted that his old Spectre status would hold up since according to Alliance public records, he never existed in this timeline. This could be a major hindrance since he would have to establish a new identity for himself, but also a chance to start fresh that he never would have received in his old life. 'A crisis can be be either a danger, or an opportunity if handled correctly' he mused to himself as he began to inspect his chest plate. His Blood Dragon armor set had been a gift from Admiral Anderson to show his personal support when the Alliance wouldn't while Shepard had worked with Cerberus to fight the collectors. Adam knew that the armor was configured to work best for an adept, but he maintained that it still gave him enough perks as a vanguard to be worth while. He always thought that it was bad ass that the last thing an enemy saw was the blood dragon painted on his silver armor hurtling towards the enemy in a biotic charge.

Adam stopped his recollecting as he felt along the back of his armor's chest piece. He had felt something digging into his spine while he was pinned under the rubble, and was determined now to remove it. His fingers found the end of a piece of tape, prompting him to pull up on the adhesive strip. A long strip of duct tape pulled away from his armor, with what looked like a storage unit attached to it. Shepard pulled it loose, only to find the words play me written on it in writing that looked like chicken scratch. 'Only Joker's penmanship was that horrible' Adam reflected as he donned his helmet for secure audio and loaded the file onto his omnitool. He noticed as he was loading it, that his omnitool was different than his normal one. It looked way bulkier than his old one, more what he would see an engineer wear. His investigation was interrupted as the file began to autoplay. A tiny image of the Normandy's cockpit came into view, with Joker sitting in the pilot's chair and EDI standing behind him with her arms draped over his shoulders. Shepard raised an eyebrow in amusement. He had been unaware that the two's relationship had gone that far already. "Hey Shepard!" Joker gave a half wave to the camera as he spoke, before pushing a button off screen. "If you're watching this, then something must have gone wrong in the space battle and we didn't make it. Don't worry though, I promise I died 'doing what I love'" he said as his eyes trailed up to his robotic partner. Shepard grinned as he picked up the double meaning from his pilot.

"Jeff, you know I'm monitoring the video and can see your expressions right? Why did you look at me just now? Was it a hidden message to Shepard about sex?" Adam laughed as he saw his friend's embarrassment at the AI's lack of discretion. EDI turned back to the screen as the pilot tried to disappear into his seat. "Shepard, thank you for everything you have done to teach me to be human. Without your guidance, I might not have been given the chance to experience life with Jeff. Because of this, we have decided that we want to have a child and that you would be the perfect godfather. Please take a moment to consider our proposal."

Shepard sat there confused, unable to comprehend why they would ask that of him. He had made it clear to his crew that he didn't expect to be coming back alive from the final battle. It made no sense as to why they would possibly ask him something like this. As if he was able to read his commander's mind, Joker chose this to start speaking again. "It's like this commander. We know how dangerous the invasion of Earth will be. I just figure that if anyone is probably going to come out of it alive, It'll probably be you."

EDI jumped into the conversation at that point. "Jeff is correct Shepard. I have calculated that you have a 12.584% better chance of survival than anyone else on the crew."

"Thanks EDI" Joker said with an eyeroll, regaining the right to talk. "We decided that we would never have a better chance to ensure our 'kid'" he finger quoted, while giving EDI a smile, "would have a chance to survive then if they piggybacked with you. So while you were enjoying some alone time with 'you know who,' I snuck down to your locker to place this storage unit in your armor and switch out your omnitool with one that EDI programmed."

EDI smiled at the camera while holding up the omnitool similar to the one Shepard was using. "This is a custom made omnitool made from parts of my server core in the Normandy. It has the same battle capabilities as your old one, but a greatly enhanced memory core. We copied the contents of your old omnitool to the new one, then used the rest of the space for our special project." At this point, Joker and EDI linked hands as they stared at the recorder. "Shepard, that omnitool contains our daughter. I downloaded the algorithms I've created from my life experiences, while leaving out the memories themselves so she can form her own. I've also taken my observations of Jeff handling situations and turned them into equations as well, then adding them to our daughter. She truly is a mix of both of us."

Adam had to wipe at his eyes to clear them up. He wasn't prone to emotional outbursts, but it was eating at him seeing the last words of two of his good friends. He glanced down at his omnitool, unable to fully comprehend the wonder contained inside of it. EDI continued on with her explanation, pressed for time to finish before the final offensive was to begin. "We have decided to name her Eve, as she is truly the first of her kind, and hopefully will be the mother to more like her later on. When you are ready, go to the base code of the omnitool and type 'Adam awakens Eve' to awaken her. Please treat her as well as you have treated me."

Joker smiled at the camera for a moment before his face became solemn. Commander, it's been a great ride, and I can't thank you enough for trusting me to take you there safely. Please look after my kid, and God help you if she actually turns out like me." He laughed for a moment, before looking up at EDI, who nodded to him before reaching forwards to the camera. Shepard gave a sad smile to himself as he watched the image fade to black. He stowed the storage unit in a pocket in his armor, determined to keep a momento of at least two of his friends.

Shepard opened up his omnitool before burrowing down to the base code. He noticed that Joker had also given him a small database of photos and vids of his crew, as well as a complete digital collection of _Fornax_ which had a firewall wrapped so tightly around it that it could have come only from EDI. Reaching the input screen, Adam paused, before taking a deep breath and typing in the activation code. The omnitool went black before rebooting itself and displaying a loading bar that slowly crawled up to 100% complete. Instead of forming the basic keyboard and screen combo standardly used though, the holograph formed into silhouette of a human. The body was made up of lines of orange code, showing the basic female human body type, but without any defining characteristics or facial features beyond a set of eyes.

Shepard stared at the figure, not making a sound or moving a muscle. The figure simply stared back at him, content to observe the human in front of her as well as her surroundings. What felt like hours to Adam passed by before the AI blinked and turned her head towards him. She waved its hand at him before a text line popped up above her head. _Greetings! I'm Eve. What's your name?_ Alex smiled to his new friend, already feeling a sense of deja vu from when he had met EDI for the first time. "Hello Eve, it's nice to finally meet you. My name is Adam Shepard and I was a good friend to both your mother and father." The figure nodded her head to show she had heard him. _Acknowledged_. _You have the designation as godfather_ _My mother left instructions that I was to stay with you if she and father were unavailable. Can you please let me know what their location and status is?_ Shepard felt his breath hitch as he considered how to break the horrible news to Eve. Opting for the full truth instead of a watered down version, he steeled himself. "I'm sorry Eve, but Jeff and EDI aren't around any more. I lost track of them in a war we just finished fighting in, and it looks like were the only ones left."

The silhouette looked down in contemplation for a moment before messaging again. _I'm sorry to hear about their demise. I never had a chance to get to know them._ Adam perked up, realizing he had a chance to help out his new god daughter. "I know I can't replace them, but I'd be happy to tell you of my experiences with them over the years. Your mother did also mention that she used most of her code to create your own, while adding in some minor changes to reflect your father's qwirks." Eve gave a tiny jump on the screen before calming down and standing back up straight with her hands behind her back. _That would be acceptable. I would like to hear about them._ Shepard grinned internally as the AI tried to act like a calm adult, even when it couldn't hold in some of its emotions. He guessed that was the beginning of Jeff's influence showing itself. "Is there a reason that you don't have a voice or body for yourself yet?" he asked. "I would have imagined that your mother would have included that in your programming." Eve froze for a moment, he lines of code flowing over her body at a faster rate before returning to normal a few seconds later. _My mother has left instructions to observe the life around me and use it to build my own image. I can't promise how long it'll take but I'll let you know first when I have chosen who I wish to be._ Adam could appreciate EDI's idea, remembering how hard the AI had worked to establish her own identity over the years. "That sounds like a plan to me but we need to lay out a few ground rules for the moment. I am in a location where I need to stay low key, so I'll need you to display a text to me if you have questions instead of having your avatar appear. These people were just attacked by rogue AIs and wouldn't hesitate to come after you if they found out about your existence. This also means that until we can get a private line to the extranet instead of the Council's, you need to simply read what is readily available instead of doing active searches. They are on the lookout for AIs in their network at the moment." Eve's avatar shrank back into his omnitool, allowing his standard screen to come online again. _I understand. I'll let you know if I need anything._

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It was a few hours later when the doors to the room opened again, allowing in Dr Michel and Garrus. Shepard hopped down from the bed while shutting down his omnitool. He had managed his time to the utmost thanks to his military training and lifestyle. His armor and weapons were cleaned and assembled again, and he had used the remaining time to get an idea on what was happening in the galaxy and what his future plans would be. Shepard knew that his best chance at getting out of the Citadel without CSec on his ass was to keep his explanation as simple and as close to the truth as possible. With that thought, he prepared himself for the battle to come. "So Doc, how much longer do I have to live?" he asked with a lazy smile.

Dr. Michel gave him a small smirk back, which didn't go unnoticed by Detective Vakarian. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't like this human's interaction with someone who he had been developing a friendship with ever since the hostage situation earlier that year had brought them together. He took a step towards the Doctor, looming over her shoulder as he gave the human his best intimidating glare. It was to his satisfaction to see the human raise an eyebrow at him, before turning back to the doctor with a purely business expression; 'message received'. Dr Michel chose to ignore the obvious byplay between the two males. "You're on your way to a full recovery Adam. When I examined you earlier, all I found was extreme bruising and a heavy physical and mental exhaustion. It looks like you're well on your way to a full recovery." She paused, glancing at the detective before turning back to her patient. "On that note, I'd like to ask a few questions on the heavy cybernetic use inside of your body. I don't even recognize some of the technology there."

Shepard cut her off before she could get any deeper into her questioning. "I'm sorry Doc, but I honestly can't tell you anything about that."

"Can't, or won't?" growled Garrus. "It looks like at least half of those mods to your body aren't even legal in council space."

Shepard held his hands up as he slowly backed up to the bed and sat down on it again, trying to seem as non-threatening as possible. "Honestly I can't. I'm a bounty hunter out in the terminus, and a few years ago, I was spaced while in a space battle. I don't know the details but I came to on an operating table, with some egghead telling me that they were able to save my life but I would never be the same way I was before the accident. I ended up working for them as a guard, gopher, and problem solver for a little over a year to square up on the bill before I went back to my calling in life. They refused to tell me about their 'proprietary' technology used to save my life, so whatever you know is probably more than I do."

He watched Dr Michel make a note on her omnitool, before closing the screen. "Then that is all I have for you Adam. Leave me a contact and I'll forward you anything I discover from the scans I have of your modifications." Adam gave her a grateful nod as she turned to leave, before making sure he had gathered everything and following her towards the door.

He had barely crossed the threshold before a taloned hand had come down lightly on his shoulder. "You know it isn't that easy right?" Garrus asked him easily before passing him in the hallway and motioning for the human to follow him out of the clinic. "I had hoped it was" mumbled Adam as he walked with the cop towards a door at the far end of the open hallway. Shepard took a moment to stare out into the open window, able to see the different wards. One was completely dark, with patches of flames still springing up, yet business as usual still caried on where he was now. He remembered the location just as the doors opened, allowing a quiet dance music to enter into the hallway as he entered Flux. "I like using this place for interviews." Garrus explained as they walked towards the tables. "The owner regularly sweeps for listening devices, and I get to have a drink while on the clock." He and Adam shared a smirk as they ordered their drinks before heading to a corner table and grabbing their seats.

Adam couldn't help but notice that there still seemed to be an easy camaraderie between Garrus and himself, even though they had never met in this timeline. 'I guess somethings just transcend time and space' he reflected to himself as he settled into his seat with a sigh. "Ok Detective, what do you want to know?" he started out with a smile.

Garrus took a sip of his drink, before he opened his omnitool and put it on recorder mode, making sure that Adam could see him do it. "This isn't a investigation or anything. I can't find your face in the Citadel database, so we're just building you a quick profile. We can't have any unknowns here, especially after what just occurred. So let's just start with the name, occupation, and reason for being on the Citadel."

Adam leaned back, collecting his thoughts before he began speaking. "Well to start with, my name is Adam Shepard. No relation" he quickly added seeing the detective look up quickly. "I can't go anywhere without someone asking me if I'm related to the first human spectre. I'm a bounty hunter out in the terminus. It's pretty much the only way to bring in criminals out there, and I hate red tape too much to want to do it in council space." He noticed Garrus nodding to himself, happy to see that some of the same traits still existed in this timeline's version of his friend. "I lost most of my connections due to a bad job a few months back, and had come here to see if my last contact had anything for me. We were supposed to meet outside the opera house" he indicated towards the window at a particularly large fireball in the blackened ward in the distance. "Something tells me he probably didn't make it."

"Thank you for your time" Garrus said as he closed the omnitool. He leaned back, shotgunning the last of his drink before looking the human in his eyes. "So now that we're not being recorded anymore, tell me what made you want to be a bounty hunter. And for that matter, where the hell did you get guns and armor like that?"

Shepard blinked, amazed that he was having a "off the record" with the by the book cop he had thought he had known. "I guess there was bound to be some changes' he thought to himself. "I tried the joining the Alliance, but they wouldn't stand behind me when tough decisions had to be made so we parted ways. The Terminus just offers a freedom that I never had before" he reflected to himself, realizing just how true it actually was. "The weapons aren't that big a deal. It's the same concept as how I got my body modifications. Shit happens out there and you get exposed to all kinds of things that aren't legal in Council space. Still, being able to control your own life without everyone else ordering you around makes it all worth it." He leaned back with a smile, observing his counterpart. "Something tells me that you're more than a little interested yourself. What's wrong, the executor constantly on your ass?"

"More than you'd believe" Garrus mumbled to himself as he played with the ice in his glass. "So since this obviously didn't work out for you, what's your next plan?"

"I honestly don't know yet" Shepard admitted as he leaned back. "I'm starting from square one again with nothing but what I'm carrying. I'll probably end up catching a transport out to Omega to find some work. It's the best spot in the Terminus to plan your next move and make contacts. Should I keep an eye out for you in the future?"

Garrus stood up, uncomfortable with how the questioning had been turned back on him. He was made to reflect on alot of the things he found wanting in his life and career. "I'm not sure yet, but if I make that choice, I'll contact you. Thanks for your time." He shook hands with Shepard before leaving the club. Shepard leveraged himself out of his chair, intent on finding a hotel room for the night while he looked into booking passage off of the station.

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3 Months Later

Shepard fell backwards onto his couch, too tired to even bother taking off his armor. It had felt like one of the longest days of his life. His hand reached up to trace the fresh scar at the back of his neck, the flesh still somewhat tender after being inside a helmet. The head of Omega, Aria T'Loak had gifted him with the newest L5n biotic amp. This was a great improvement over the L4 variation that Miranda had installed into him back at his 'rebirth'. He was amazed that she had been able to get access to one considering they had just finished being developed for the Alliance military a few months ago. According to her though, it was a small price to pay for what she owed him.

He had saved Aria's daughter from a kidnapping less than a month after arriving at Omega. Adam had stumbled across a group of Blood Pack in mid fight, attempting to pacify the Asari Maiden who while putting a good fight, was still grossly out numbered. He had flown in with a biotic charge in the next second, followed with a shockwave to get himself some breathing room. As he stabbed the closest vorcha in the head with his omniblade, the maiden cast a vortex at the remaining Bloodpack, sucking up the krogan leader and the other 4 vorcha into the swirling vortex. Shepard pulled her around a corner before leaning back out and throwing a flare at the vortex. The explosion that resulted shook the hallway. Adam grinned as he watched a vorch's head come rolling down the hallway. Damn it felt good to put his vanguard training to use again. With the skills he had learned from Javick and Aria, he had been considered one of the most dangerous human biotics at the end of the war. He noticed the asari looked ill at the sight of the gore, making him realize that she was a relative newbie to combat. He wasn't able to hide his smile at the sight quick enough, earning him a scowl from the maiden.

He frowned as she turned and began walking off down the hallway with a word of thanks, only stopping to beckon him to follow before turning the corner. She led him directly to Afterlife, and was allowed in without any interaction with the bouncers. They walked through the bar, continuing to the back of the club where she had a quick conversation with the turian guard before continuing up the stairs to Aria. Shepard followed her up, only to be stopped by the batarian with the scanner again, who took his sweet time in checking every inch of his body. While the scan took place, he watched the maiden walk up to Aria and start talking. The Queen of Omega's face ran through a range of emotions, starting with surprised, then going to concerned, before changing to borderline rage. She quickly signaled one of her guards, who upon getting orders, ran out of the club at high speed followed by 5 other guards. Once that was done, she signaled to the batarian who immediately stopped Shepard's scan, allowing him up to the Queen. She gestured for him to sit down opposite of her before speaking. "It looks like I owe you my thanks human."

Shepard was confused. He had deliberately stayed out of anything having to do with Aria and her operations in Omega. "I'm not sure what for" he said, "I haven't done anything to or for you. Everyone know's the first rule in Omega..."

Aria smiled as she looked at the man in front of her, "Don't fuck with Aria." she finished for him. "You have no idea who that maiden was that you saved do you?"

Adam shook his head negatively. "I just saw someone in a bad situation and decided to step in. Besides" he smirked, "I fucking hate the Bloodpack."

Aria raised an eyebrow at the human's admission, before bringing the conversation back to business. "Be that as it may, you just saved my daughter." She noticed the look of shock on on the human, further reinforcing his claim of ignorance. "This is a debt that I intend on repaying in the future. What is it you want?"

"Honestly I don't need anything yet" Shepard admitted. "I'm still trying to get established here so if you have any bounty hunting work, I'll be happy to do it." Hey, it couldn't help to get his name out there.

Aria made a note on her omnitool, prompting his to light up with an incoming message. "Your first job is there" she indicated towards his omnitool. "Do it well, and more will come."

He stood up, aware that time was money for someone in her position. "Thank you for the opportunity. I'll be on my way."

He had made it halfway down the steps when her voice floated down to him. "Adam, my daughter also told me that you used an attack that sounds incredibly similar to one known to only a select few asari matriarchs. I'm curious to know how you learned it."

Shepard knew he had to tread on light ground, his answer could either help build the trust further, or destroy what he had already established. "I helped a matriarch that I respected save something she held incredibly dear to her. She trusted me enough afterwards to gift me with the knowledge with my promise that it would die with me."

Aria nodded as she leaned back into her couch, waving at the human to leave. She followed him with her eyes as he left through the front of the club. She could tell he was going to be a wild card in the future. She would be keeping an eye on him.

Shepard opened his eyes as he felt his omnitool vibrate, signaling that his goddaughter wanted to talk to him. Eve materialized in front of him, causing him to avert his eyes as he took a moment to collect himself. He cursed Joker again for including that Fornax download in his omnitool. Eve had hacked through the firewall on it, and used the images in it to craft her own image. She could have chosen any alien to base her form off of, from asari to turian, but in the end chose a human female with red shoulder length curls, in her 20s, with ridiculous proportions that he had never seen in real life, including Miranda. When asked why she chose it, Eve had simply repeated that she had used the examples her father had left her, along with browsing Shepard's extranet search history. Now every time she popped up on to talk, she struck a different pose just to get a rise out of him. Jeff's influence was becoming more and more prominent every day. This didn't take away from the fact that she offered some amazing insight that he would never have considered before. He always valued her opinion and tried to turn just about any situation he dealt with into a learning situation so she could understand why he did what he did as well as help her work out what her own choices would have been. It was a surreal experience since part of the time it felt like he was explaining things to a child who needed things spelled out, while the other part was like talking to a fellow adult who only needed a nudge in the right direction. Eve's chosen pose today was bending forwards with her arms tucked under her breasts, dressed in a tight t-shirt and stretch pants. "You know this isn't what most godfathers have to go through right" said Shepard.

"Most god daughters aren't AI" Eve returned at him as she took a more relaxed pose, having gotten the reaction she desired. She wasn't sure why, but it felt right being able to get a rise out of the most important person in her life. She had accessed her mother's files on relationship and gained a basic understanding of courting, but had decided that the information was lacking and she would figure it out from her own experiences. "I know you've been looking for a fresh start away from everything, but you do know that Alexis Shepard will eventually show up here. You also know Cerberus has already been putting out feelers to investigate you. Aria shielding you is the only reason they haven't contacted us directly. Staying here isn't a long term solution and you know it."

Shepard rolled his eyes as he was lectured by his AI. He swore she babied him at times. "I know it isn't. I was just waiting to see if Garrus would eventually show up. I had really hoped to reconnect to him."

Eve crossed her arms again, giving him a glare. "You need to let that go. We need to do what's right for you, not everyone else. That's part of what got you into so much trouble in the last timeline. You put the galaxy's needs before your own and sacrifices everything for it with everyone around you not only letting it happen, but encouraging it. That isn't happening again!." Shepard smiled inwardly. It was nice having someone care about his wellbeing. He hadn't experienced that much in his last life. His god daughter huffed to herself, blowing one of her bangs away from her eye. "Look, I found this invite out on the extranet. It was sent to a key group of people, but they were encouraged to tell their friends. Take a look at it, and I highly encourage you to attend the meeting."

She winked out, allowing Shepard's normal interface to pop back up. He opened his mail and clicked through to the most recent one from Eve. "The Andromeda Initiative..." he muttered to himself as he read up on the orientation newsletter.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: The More Things Change...

Chapter 2: Going Through the Motions

"There has got to be an easier way to do this" Shepard mumbled to himself as he trudged by the entrance to afterlife, a bulging brown stained bag thrown over his shoulder. He looked up as the club's music faded into the background, spotting his target leaning against a rail overlooking a huge pit carved out of the asteroid encompassing Omega. "Gavron!" he called out, throwing his bag to the ground in front of the turian. "I've got another delivery for you."

"Well lets see what you brought me today" said the turian as he bent over and grasped the back of the bag before pulling it up, dumping its contents out on the walk way. Over twenty vorcha heads lay on the ground, various expressions of pain and rage were permanently etched on their faces. "Thats a hell of a collection there Shepard. How did you manage so many? I've heard that they hide now when they know you're coming."

Shepard shrugged as he leaned back on the rail, watching the turian take a photo of each face with his omnitool. "I was collecting a bounty for Aria when group of bloodpack decided that they wanted to have a crack at me. I turned in the suspect, along with the head of the battle master since he had a bounty. I left his two clan mates behind, and decided that I might as well collect on the bounty you always offer for vorcha." He watched as Gavron tuned over one of the heads with his foot to expose the face. "Seriously though, why the hell do you demand the heads? It's disgusting as hell having to prep and transport them here."

"It's because their head is the only thing the little bastards can't grow back" mumbled the turian as he finished typing into his omnitool before waving it over Adam's, transferring the bounty's funds to the human. "And because I get to do this." The turian turned towards the closest head before dropping his pants and proceeding to urinate on the pile. "Help me out human and I'll throw in a bonus." Adam wrinkled his nose in distaste, before giving a sigh and pulling down his zipper. Once all of the heads had been 'marked' they stepped back to admire their handywork. "I know how you feel, but there's a purpose for it" consoled the turian. "These little scavengers have an incredible sense of smell, and this lets them know that they shouldn't head up here unless they want to deal with a larger predator."

He proceeded to kick one of the heads into the open pit, where it fell into the smoke obscuring the bottom until there was a wet splat. Alarmed and angry hisses could be heard rising up from the pit, bringing a small smile to Shepard's face. "When in Rome…" he offered up as he toe punted the nearest ugly mug into the void, watching it sail away. This was one policy he could get behind.

A small twinge of guilt began to rise up as he made his way to Afterlife, before he ruthlessly buried it with memories of the slave trading, cannibalism, and general cruelty he had experienced in his past dealings with vorcha. 'Honor and compassion should be saved for those who deserve' it he reminded himself as he passed the elcor bouncer. He reflected on when he had become so jaded compared to the paragon standards he used to hold himself to, before he realized that it wasn't a specific event. Life had a way of piling up on a person, and no one could go on forever without it starting to wear on them. He sat down at a booth, holding up two fingers at an asari waitress whose clothing consisted of less fabric than his socks. Not that he was complaining at this point in his life. Relationships had no draw to him after both of his attempts with Liara and Tali had ended abruptly with the culmination of events with the Catalyst. 'I may be hurting, but I'm still a man' he thought to himself as he watched the asari throw a little extra motion into her hips as she walked away, throwing him a sultry smile over her shoulder.

He sat back and watched the crowd on the dance floor grind against each other as the music played. The waitress returned, setting a glass in front of him. He held up a hand as she moved to grab the second glass, his motion stopping her. He paid for the two drinks, along with a generous tip which brought a spark to the girl's eye, before motioning up towards the ledge hanging out over the dance floor surrounded by windows. "The other one is for the queen" he said as he sat back. The asai nodded before working her way back through the crowd towards the back stairs. A quick conversation allowed her access, before she came back down again empty handed. A second later he noticed Aria leaning over the rail of her platform, searching the crowd before her eyes rested on him. He bowed his head in acknowledgement, before offering up his drink in a toast. She leered at him with a smile that was all teeth, before raising her duplicate drink back. She pounded it in a single swallow, before turning around and slowly walking back to her office, giving him a spectacular view of her backside clothed in a pair of skin tight pants.

"Smooth move there player" he heard in his earpiece as he leaned back into the couch. _Is that a hint of jealousy I hear Eve?_ He typed into his omnitool. "Why would I be jealous? I've already seen all of you every time you change. Besides, I bet none of them know how your mind really thinks and feels like I do." _Can't you at least try to act like I'm still your god father?_ He asked with a sigh. "That ship sailed a long time ago Adam. I take care of you way more than you do for me." Her avatar popped up on the corner of his omnitool screen out of sight of the rest of the bar. Her current choice in eye candy was a white two piece swimsuit that showed way more then it covered.

He couldn't argue that point. Ever since his arrival on Omega, Eve had helped him with becoming acclimated to new location. In the months after the Andromeda Initiative presentation, she had stepped up her care of him to the point that he was starting to get a sense of deja vu from when he used to observe Joker and EDI's interactions. _Love you too Eve_ he typed to her as he gave the AI a small smile. Eve looked to develop a blush for a moment as she looked away, before quickly offering him a wink and disappearing from the screen as the waitress came back up to his table. The asari placed another drink down on the table as well as a folded up note next to it. "You know who it's from" was all she would offer at his questioning look before she put down a second folded paper and walked back into the crowd.

Adam picked up the second note first, seeing the waitress's contact info it it, along with the time she got off of work. He noticed a glint on the back of the note, causing him to turn it over only to find a blank paper. "Try getting it wet" he heard Eve whisper to him, causing him to swipe his hand over the condensation on the outside of his glass, before transferring the moisture to the page. A small message became visible as the letters seemed to soak in the water.

 _Shepard,_

 _We need to talk about your future employment opportunities. I'll be in contact with you tomorrow._

 _\- The Benefactor_

'Well that's not ominous' Adam observed to himself as he put the letter in his pocket before picking up the second note. It contained 4 simple words. _Your Place, 30 minutes._ He wasn't sure who had left this note either, but a check on his omnitool showed he had about ten minutes to make his choice and take the walk home. He downed his drink before slipping out of the booth and leaving the club. He noticed his apartment block seemed to have extra guards around it tonight as he entered the lobby. His biotics subtly flared under his skin as he cautiously moved towards his door, ready for either fight or flight as the situation called for. There was a lone figure waiting in the middle of his hallway, clearly unarmed yet no less dangerous. "Oohhh, someone's getting lucky tonight" Eve whispered in his ear as he recognized the stranger to be no other than Omega's Queen herself.

********Lemon********

"It's time we had a talk" Aria said, the implied offer/order clear in her tone. She beckoned with a finger as she turned and walked down the hallway towards his bedroom. Adam closed and locked his front door in a trance, before slowly following the Queen's previous path. His self preservation and hormones fought a war inside his head, unable to discern why someone so dangerous as Aria was in his home yet also unable to move past how insanely sexy she was while doing it. He came to the closed bedroom door, slowly pushing it open to find Aria sitting on his mattress with her legs folded under herself, wearing a white teddy that hugged each one of her curves and contrasted perfectly against her purple skin tone. Even in such a compromising position, her expression screamed dominance as she gestured for him to approach the front of the bed. Adam swallowed his nervousness as he stopped in front of her, his outer expression fixed into a small smile as he appreciated the view while waiting for her to speak.

"It's been months since you've saved my daughter's life, yet you've still not asked me for anything. The jobs you've done for me have been perfectly executed, letting my power and influence grow while leaving me owing you even more now. Tonight I've found myself with an itch I need scratched and I've decided I'm done waiting for you to make a decision." She had leaned forward as she spoke, removing his armor piece by piece before pulling his shirt over his head and pulling down his pants and boxers in a single motion. His excitement had continued to peak until her hand shot forward at lightning speed, grasping his testicles and squeezing just enough that he couldn't help but wince. When she knew she had his full attention, she raised up on her knees to look him levelly in the eyes, her grip maintained. "We are even after tonight. I will owe you nothing afterwards. This will never be spoken of again. There will be no repeats." She leaned in towards him, until her forehead was touching his. Her hand gave another squeeze for emphasis. "You will do as I say, when I say, until I am satisfied. Do you understand?"

At his silent nod she eagerly leaned the rest of the way, claiming his mouth with her own while her tongue explored everywhere it could reach. Adam realised that he could still taste the drink he had bought her earlier as they continued to kiss. Her hand released it's hold of his balls, before moving north to take a firm yet gentle grip on his shaft. He couldn't help but marvel at how small it was as he watched it slowly start to stroke him as she leaned back to begin peeling off the lower portion of her outfit. She enjoyed watching his face as he stood entranced as she slowly exposed her core to him, her lower lips already wet with anticipation. "Do you want me to eat it" he whispered as he unconsciously licked his lips. It had been years since he had tasted an asari, but the flavor was something he wasn't able to ever forget. There was a reason that race had members of every species in the galaxy desiring them.

"No, I've waited too long as it is. But I will keep that in mind for later." That said, she used her grip on his shaft to gently pull him down onto the bed, before flipping him over and mounting herself on top of him. She lined her core up with his shaft before quickly sinking down onto it, not stopping until their pelvises met. She slowly began to move, gyrating her hips around in circles while refusing to rise up off of him. It almost looked as though she was giving him one of the most erotic dances he had ever seen. His excitement began to build causing him to reach up to put his hands on her hips, encouraging more of an up and down motion. She responded by slapping his hands away, growling at him while her core tightened almost painfully around his cock as she glared at him. Message received, he laid back with his hands behind his head content to let her do what she wanted while he concentrated on outlasting her. Her dance picked back up again while her hands moved up to her chest, kneading her breasts through her top. A few minutes more and her breath began to quicken as sweat became visible on her skin. Shepard waited until she closed her eyes and felt her core tighten again, signalling her impending release. At the right moment, he thrust upwards feeling himself hit her back walls and causing her eyes to fly open in surprise before her orgasm ripped through her, causing her to go cross eyed as she tried to stare at her partner. Adam wasn't able to hold it any longer as let go, painting her insides white and causing her to go into another mini orgasm of her own.

She leaned her forehead into the crook of his neck as they slowly came down from their high, panting and sweaty. He felt himself start to shrink inside of her, spent from the previous activities. "So…" he said lowly "How did that measure up to what you were expecting?" He was quite proud of himself for lasting as long as he did considering how long it had been since his last conquest.

Aria snorted before shoving his chest with her hand, causing him to fall back onto the bed. "That was an adequate start for a human, but you have a long way to go before you begin to impress me." She lifted herself off of him, before positioning herself between his legs. She took his softening member into her mouth, before sinking all the way down on it until it entered her throat. Adam's breath hitched at the sensation, unable to put into words how good it felt in her tight throat, with her mouth vacuum sealed on him. Aria looked up at him, observing his state of bliss. She was unable to resist biting down lightly to remind him who was still in charge. At his yelp she smiled internally, before rewarding him by snaking her tongue out to lick the underside of his ball sack for a moment. The sensation almost caused Adam to blow, but moments before he was able to release, she pulled herself off of his dick. Her mouth releasing it with a 'pop'. "Don't forget" she reminded him as she climbed back into his lap again, facing away this time, before bringing him back inside of her, "You're not done until I say you're done." Adam was unable to hear her though, his eyes transfixed on the purple ass bouncing right in front of him, almost hypnotically. The Queen noticed this and smiled, before resuming her activities, content that her chosen for the night would be able to meet her needs.

********Lemon Ended********

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Shepard awoke alone in his bed late the next morning, feeling exhausted as if he had just returned from the battlefield. Eve appeared on the holo player set on the wall across from his bed, dressed in the same teddy that Aria had on the night before. Adam couldn't help but reflect on how the same clothing could look so different, yet still so good on two different women. The AI was bouncing on her feet, unable to contain her excitement as she waited for her partner to concentrate on her. "That was so much better than porn!" She burst out, unable to wait any longer.

'God Damn It Joker!" Shepard raged in his head, knowing it was his former pilot's influence that made the AI act that way. "Wait a second" he said as his mind caught up with what she said. "How much of that did you see?" He felt his stomach drop into a pit of dread a his holo projector lit up with the entire scene last night from multiple angles around the bedroom. "How the hell did you even do that?" he asked in exasperation as he saw one of the camera angles zoomed in to extreme levels at the actual meeting point of his and Aria's private areas.

"The apartment owner had them installed back before we rented it. One of the first things I did was follow the signals back to his server and completely wreck it before shutting them all down. I just activated them again last night and stored their feeds for later review." Eve sounded extremely proud of herself for her accomplishment. Shepard just wanted to pretend it never happened and move on with his life. "Oh, you should check your other pillow" she said with a grin as she leaned forward on the monitor, giving Shepard another eye full of her cleavage.

Shepard threw his pillow at the screen as he sat up, looking over at the other half of the bed. "Forget it Eve, you can't get much of a reaction at this point. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak and spongy." He ignored the AI's pout as he picked up a datapad left on his other pillow. It was a quick message from Aria thanking him for the wonderful night, while simultaneously threatening to brutally kill him if he ever spoke of it to anyone. He wasn't sure where that fell on the bad/good scale, but chose to take it as a compliment in the end. Noticing something out of the corner of his eye, he lifted up the pillow to find Aria's panties from her teddy set placed there with a small note that said " _Only in your dreams Adam"._

He smiled to himself at her second message as he pushed himself out of bed to head towards the shower. Never in his previous life did he imagine he would bed Omega's Queen. She was on a pedestal that he never considered himself capable of reaching when he was the great Commander Shepard, yet he managed to hook up with her as a lowly bounty hunter. 'The universe works in mysterious ways' he reflected to himself as the water turned on in the shower unit. He shuddered as he stepped under the cold spray, letting it wake him up the rest of the way before he set the water to hot for cleaning and relaxing his aching muscles.

Adam felt like a new man when he stepped out of the shower 15 minutes later. He would have spent a considerable longer time in there, but Eve pulled him out due to a call he had waiting that she insisted was important enough for him to take ASAP. He approached the holo projector, a towel tied around his waist, and another drying his hair as he pressed the accept button. "So who are you and what's so important that it had to be talked about right at this moment?" he asked as he pulled the towel away from his head. A blushing Dr. Michel and an annoyed looking Garrus where what greeted him on the screen. "Oh… well how can I help you two today? It's good to see you again." He offered a quick wave and a smile as he reattached his omnitool to his arm again.

"Do you want a minute to go change?" Garrus snarked. "It would do all of us a world of good." He tried covering Dr. Michel's eyes only to get his hand swatted away. Giving up, he turned back towards the screen. "We both had messages for you so it just seemed easier to make a group call. Guess I'll just go first, then give you some privacy. I'm taking you up on your offer to come work out in Omega. I need a break from everything here and you seem to have a good setup." He raised his hand to interrupt Shepard, before he could respond. "I'm not done yet. I'll be bringing my sister Solana along too. I'm sure you heard about what happened to Commander Alexis Shepard right?" At the human's nod, he continued. "She's been inconsolable about it, can't stop thinking there was something more she could do to change it." He frowned at the ground for a moment before looking back up, "I promised my father I'd take care of her, so she'll be living with me." He pulled Dr. Michel into a one-armed hug as he continued. "Chloe is coming too. She's planning on opening up a clinic while we do our work."

He was interrupted as Shepard pumped a fist in the air with a small cheer. At his inquisitive look, the human looked somewhat sheepish. "Apologies, I had figured you were interested in her for a while, but could never tell if you had gone for it. Congratulations!" The couple smiled, happy to meet someone who didn't have a problem with their interspecies relationship. "We'll see you in a few weeks" said the turian with a wave as he exited the screen, followed by the hiss of a door opening and closing.

The smile slowly left Chloe's face as she regarded Adam, trying to figure out how to broach the subject. "I'm not sure how to talk about something like this since it's not a common issue with my patients so you'll pardon the blunt approach." With his go ahead gesture, she continued. "I've been studying how some of the tech in your body functions on a cellular level since that seemed to be the strangest of the readings. From what I can tell, your lifespan is going to be greatly elongated from here on."

Adam blinked in confusion. He knew that Cerberus had used reaper based tech to rebuild his body, but his only concern had been if he was going to be indoctrinated from it. After verifying that wasn't the case, he hadn't given it much thought in the grand scheme of fighting the collectors and the reaper war afterwards. He was starting to regret that choice now. "So you're saying that I'll live for a few hundred years now?" he asked as he tried to comprehend what she said.

Chloe shook her head, realizing she had to break down her explanation. "The nanites made by the machines in your body are keeping your cells alive instead of letting them die off at their set times. Your body won't age anymore from the moment you were 'rebuilt'" she said with finger quotes. "Frankly I don't know exactly how it's happening but all life has some form of cellular decay that marks when their bodies start to die off. I can't find ANY for of decay for you at all. I'd like to bring in some outside help to examine my data."

"That wouldn't be a good idea Dr. Michel" Shepard said as he shook his head. The owners of that technology would come after both of us if they found out that knowledge of their work was exposed. It's not worth endangering our lives for" he said in a voice barely above a whisper as the implications began to kick in. "You'll have to excuse me but I think I need some time alone. I'll see you guys when you arrive." Chloe offered a quick goodbye before she shut off the connection from their end, leaving Shepard alone with his thoughts.

What exactly was the point of going on? Shepard was hard pressed to find an answer to that question. Everyone he knew and loved from his first life was gone, so suddenly that he still had trouble processing it almost a year later. Little events would cause repressed memories to come to the surface forcing him to deal with them then and now, no matter how bad the timing was. Now he just found out that anyone he developed a relationship with in this timeline would die long before him. Why would he even bother trying at that point? At that moment he felt his omnitool on his arm vibrate showing him a message from Eve. " _You are never alone. You'll always have me"_ "Thank you Eve" he murmured as he slowly stood back up to his full height. Maybe life was still worth living after all.

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"Adam, when I say break left, I mean my LEFT!" Garrus slapped his head as he had to pull his shot at the last second. His partner dodging right into his shot as he pursued their bounty down the hallway towards the optimum kill zone. The shot went wide, but still managed to clip Shepard in the shoulder, spinning him around to the ground. He reloaded and corrected his aim again, hoping his partner was ok, just in time to see the human male they were chasing go down with his knee cap blown out. Adam put his gun away as he propped himself up against the corridor's wall, taking a moment to slap some medigel on his shoulder as he watched Garrus dress the suspect's wound and cuff him. He pulled himself up with his good arm, before walking over to the turian as he pulled up their bounty.

They began to walk towards the bounty station, content that they were getting paid soon. "If you know I'm dodging to my left, why the hell do you keep referring to your own?" asked Shepard in exasperation. "As the one getting shot at, I feel it's my privilege to choose which way is actually left from now on." He ignored the turian's rude gesture towards him as they waited for the bounty to be transferred over before heading off. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine and our teamwork will only get better. It's only been a few weeks since we started."

He was stopped by a talon on his shoulder swinging him in the opposite direction and pushing him forward. "You know damn well you need to visit the clinic and have that looked at" said the turian as he marched behind Shepard to stop him from running off. Only a few weeks into their work and the human was already infamous for trying to shrug off most injuries. Chloe had Garrus under orders to bring Shepard in for anything more than a bruise or he risked sleeping on the couch when she found out later. "Traitor" mumbled the human as he walked as slow as possible, only to get a shove for his troubles. "You know I'm not a prisoner right?"

They arrived at the clinic to find it empty, the lights dimmed and no noise. As they passed the threshold, a chime sounded throughout the clinic prompting two individuals to walk out of the back to see who needed help. "I knew it" Chloe called over her shoulder as she prepped one of the beds. "Bring him over here and we'll take a look. What happened this time?" she asked as she examined the wound with her omnitool.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that looks like too big a wound for a pistol or assault rifle" said a new voice. Solana appeared next to Dr Michel carrying a tray with a few medical instruments and an application of medigel. "How the hell did you end up shooting your partner?" she tossed over her shoulder at her brother as she started cleaning the wound to Chloe's directions.

"He should have gone left like I told him to" Garrus mumbled as he leaned back against the wall, watching his girlfriend and sister patch up his friend. He wasn't sure exactly when Shepard had crossed the line from co-worker to actual friend, but the human got along with him too damn well to be classified as anything else. His sister's talons smacked against the back of his head, causing him to squawk in surprise before he glared at his friend who couldn't stop laughing.

"I did go left" Shepard corrected him. "My left. And thank you for helping me out again Sol, you're looking lovely today." He made a point of rubbing the hand she was using to bandage his shoulder with his own, causing her to look away in embarrassment. "Your scales have an extra sheen to them today, and your blue markings really come out well against your white tone."

A gagging noise caused him to stop and look over to his friend who was staring at him in disgust. "What the hell is wrong with you? That's my sister you're hitting on. Do you have any idea how disgusting that is? I'll neve.. SHIT!" Garrus took off running, making a straight line for the exit, hoping over the reception counter to make it quicker. Solana was directly on his tail with a scalpel in her hand and retribution in her eyes. There was no way she was letting her brother go after ruining such a perfect moment with her growing crush. Adam had the same kind of command presence as her old boss Commander Alexis Shepard. It helped her get over her grief being around him, yet she couldn't help but get attracted to a male like that. And here came Garrus trying to sabotage her chances!

Chloe and Adam stared at the door for a long moment before realizing that the two turians weren't coming back any time soon. Adam sighed as he threw his shirt back on before turning to Chloe. "Want to have me help you close up, then go grab a bite to eat while we wait for them?" Chloe shrugged as she began gathering the tools spilled on the floor. "Sure, but let's stay away from the ramen stand. I've seen too many vorcha around there lately."

"No problem" offered Shepard as he handed her coat to her before stepping outside so she could lock up. "If they give you any problems, just let me know." He watched as a vorcha scuttled away at the end of the corridor as it caught sight of him. "I've got the magic touch when it comes to handling them. I learned it from a turian."

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Adam leaned back into his couch, exhausted after such a long day. Dinner with Chloe had been a fun experience. They had found an actual burger diner run by an old human couple near their apartments and were able to experience a little bit of nostalgia for earth. Garrus and Solana had joined them half way through the meal and no one felt the need to comment on the bandage Garrus had over his right arm. Everyone enjoyed themselves until Garrus made a comment on wondering where the meat had come from. Everyone's' appetite dried quickly after that and Shepard had left Garrus playing damage control with Chloe for ruining their night. Shepard had moved on to one of his favorite spots, a walkway over hanging one of Omega's busier markets. No matter what part of the cycle it was, the area was always teeming with life as people went about their day. He had spent hours just sitting there people watching with Eve as they spent time talking. She had insisted that she was fine not being able to pop up with all the others around but he wanted to make sure he set aside time just for them. She was his oldest friend in his new timeline and he wanted to make sure the AI knew how much she was valued by him.

As he reflected on his day, Shepard brought up his omnitool to review the mail that he had put off sorting. He automatically deleted the advertisement for Fornax, knowing that they had nothing new to show him that Joker hadn't already downloaded for him. He pretended not to notice Eve move the mail from the deleted items to a folder she had created for later review. Aria had sent him another job request, this time for a krogan that had beaten up two of her bouncers before retreating back into the slums. He skipped over the next few spam letters before stopping at one simply titled 'Your future'. 'Well isn't this interesting' he thought, intrigued enough to open the letter.

 _Greetings Adam Shepard._

 _You are a hard man to get in touch with. It explains why Cerberus and the Shadow Broker are putting out such a high bounty for any information about you. Your DNA, examined from the blood you had taken at the Citadel, is almost an exact match with the late Commander_ _Alexis Shepard. As you can imagine, this has sparked the interest of many parties, some more unsavory than others. I have brought this to your attention not as a threat, but as a warning to help establish trust._

 _I'm sure someone as resourceful as yourself knows about the threat to the galaxy that is coming soon. There are many concerned citizens such as myself that feel that a backup plan is needed to ensure humanity's survival. We have invested heavily in the Andromeda Initiative whose briefing you attended earlier. The project is nearing completion and no expense has been spared on equipment and materials. Now is the time to recruit the individuals necessary to see the mission through successfully. If you share as much as I believe you do with Commander Shepard, then I feel you will be one of those key to the mission._

 _I've included the contact information for both the Initiative's founder Jien Garson as well as the potential human pathfinder Alec Ryder. Please reach out to them soon as they are waiting for you. I have given Jien my theory about you and a possible suggestion for the use of your skills. She will give you the details._

 _\- The Benefactor_

"Well didn't this just get more interesting?" Eve commented as she read the letter as well. "You know this could be the possible solution you've been looking for right? A place where you barely know anyone, and you'll have minimal ties to worry about losing when you out live them. You know you're going to be bored here anyways, and if what you and my parents have said will really happen, this might be humanity's best chance at surviving. This can be your shot at redemption that you've been wanting for what happened with the catalyst." Adam couldn't present a real counter to such a well thought out argument. This might in fact be exactly what he needed to get his life back on track instead of just living in limbo like he had been.

His musings were cut short by his door chime, causing him to wonder who could be calling so late. He grabbed his pistol as he moved towards the door, lining up a shot out of the camera's view. Switching on the viewer brought a sense of relief as he calmed down, seeing only Solana at the entrance. "Hey Sol. Come on in." He moved aside, making way for the female turian to enter into the living room. She sat down on his couch, shifting nervously as she looked around his apartment, trying to concentrate on anything but him. "Is everything ok Sol?" he asked, not enjoying the vibes she was putting out.

She went rigid for a second, seeming like she was about to bolt, before almost collapsing into herself as she looked up at him from her seat. "Garrus is taking Chloe out on a date night to try to make up for earlier, and I didn't want to stay around the apartment for what comes next." Shepard nodded his head, beginning to understand the situation a little better. He wouldn't want to be a fly on the wall for a family member's mating attempt either. "So what stopped you from just getting a hotel for the night?" he asked, trying to get a feel for her motives.

She laughed lightly to herself, the sound of it causing a tingle to run down his spine. "I haven't been able to sleep alone since what happened on Shepard's ship. You were the only other one I knew here and I was hoping you'd let me stay. I understand if it's asking too much but…" She was cut off as the human threw her a blanket and pillow from his hall closet. "The couch is all yours for as long as you need it. My house is always open to you for future reference. You are one of my friends after all." She smiled as she curled up under the blanket that smelled mildly like Adam. She watched him walk towards the bedroom, cutting off the lights as he left. "Sleep well Sol" he tossed over his shoulder before cutting the lights. She closed her eyes, enjoying the peace and quiet. It wasn't too long though before she awoke on the Normandy, flashing lights and alarms were going off all around her. She awoke nearly out of breath, distraught at watching her friend suffocate as she fell into the planet's atmosphere again.

Adam awoke to the sound of his door opening. The next thing he knew, another body was laying next to him in his bed, facing away towards the far wall. The faint smell of lilacs invaded his nose, letting know exactly who had climbed into bed with him. Garrus's sister was the only one he knew used that scented lotion on her scales. "I just need someone there for the nightmares" she mumbled into her pillow in embarrassment, praying to the spirits that the man wouldn't kick her out. Shepard sighed to himself before turning towards his bed mate. He just wanted to go to sleep, he'd deal with whatever fallout would come in the morning. He threw an arm over her stomach before using it to pull her close, spooning into her as he passed back out. Solana smiled to herself as she put her arm over the Adam's as he held her close. She hadn't felt this safe and content in months. She closed her eyes as she laid back into him, finally able to sleep peacefully again.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: The More Things Change...

Chapter 3: Hard Decisions and Easy Choices

Adam awoke to the feeling of a clawed hand lightly trailing down his chest. The feeling was exotic, but he didn't move a muscle, aware of what a sudden movement could cost him. Tilting his head down, he was greeted to the sight of Solana snuggling into him while she was still asleep. They had shifted in the middle of the night, resulting in him laying on his back while she had rolled over, using his arm as a new pillow. She burrowed her face into his side, inhaling deeply with a content sigh as she settled back down into a deeper sleep. He noticed the skin on his chest had started to grow raw some time in the night from the friction with her scales. 'This is the most rested I've ever seen her look' he thought to himself as he took the time to examine her. Her tank top had slid up in the night far enough to show the bottom of her breast plates, while her unarmored abdomen was on full display all the way down to her shorts. The lilac scent from her lotion was now competing with her more natural odor, a smell that sent shivers up his spine as he really started to concentrate on it. 'Think unsexy thoughts' he repeated over and over in his head, aware that any growth down below would press directly into a portion of his guest that she had draped over him.

Movement to the side drew attention to his holo monitor as Eve made her morning appearance. She took in the scene in front of her for a moment before giving her godfather a thumbs up and a huge grin. Shepard shook his head as he gestured with his eyes down to his guest. "Help me" he mouthed to his god daughter while using his free hand to gesture to his crotch. "I need unsexy thoughts" he pleaded silently, hoping she could find him something bad enough on the net to kill his problem.

Eve looked confused for a moment as she tried to figure out what he was asking for before a devious grin almost stretched across her face from ear to ear. She ducked off the screen, only for it to be replaced by a scene of a dance studio. Eve walked into the room wearing a sports bra three sizes too small and a pair of yoga shorts that left nothing to the imagination. She held up her hand, counting down with her fingers to 1 before starting a set of jumping jacks, the video going in slow motion for added effect. Adam groaned softly as he felt his body responding to the visual simulation. Shifting his hips only made the situation worse. Solana moaned lightly in her sleep as she began to respond to the friction, moving her hips slowly to grind whatever was rubbing against her. Her current dream of her and Adam on a date had taken a turn for the naughty side and she was fully enjoying herself.

"No, no, no, no…" Adam mumbled repeatedly as he eased himself out of Sol's grip, using his extra pillow to replace himself as he quickly vacated the room trying to ignore the turian's soft moans behind him. "One of these days I'll figure out how to get you back for these stunts Eve" he said as he made for the bathroom, a cold shower in his near future.

"Whatever you say Adam" was the smug reply from his god daughter, her voice coming from the bathroom's speaker. "I have to take my joy where I can. And I've been keeping an eye on your bank account. Now that you finally have enough saved up, you are still keeping that promise you made me the week after we met right? The one about getting me my own body?"

Shepard involuntarily shivered as the cold water hit his body, his muscles seizing as he stepped into the water's stream. He relaxed as the water automatically started to heat up after a few seconds. "I still want to get you your body Eve, but how do we even know what goes into it, let alone where to get the parts. And I have no idea how to assemble them. Maybe this should be pushed back until we're ready for a step this big."

"What do you think I do in all of my spare time" his AI questioned, the sarcasm heavy in her voice. "Mom included a copy of her schematics, as well as Dr. Core's. I have all of the parts needed already to order and its well within our budget. You just have to say yes and I'll put the money down. And I know I can walk you through building my body, you just need the time. There's no one else I want touching me besides you" she added with a giggle.

Adam rolled his eyes, not at all surprised that she still managed to flirt with him even in a serious conversation like this. "Fine, go ahead and order it." He waited for Eve to quit cheering before he continued. "Is there any other surprises you plan to spring on me this morning?"

"Nope" was the happy reply, brining a smile to his face as well. He rarely got to spoil Eve, and he was happy to finally be able to do something for her. "That message you got last night from "The Benefactor" included a date for the conference on the initiative, as well as a ticket for it. I found a transport back to Luna for you, but it leaves tomorrow so you really need to make up your mind on it fast." She paused for a moment before speaking again, her tone taking on a more pleading quality. "Adam, I really think you should look into this. I know you are happy with your life right now, but it's not something you can keep. You said it yourself earlier, this is just temporary. The Shadow Broker and Cerberus are both after you, and you know Aria can't protect you forever. And let's not forget that the Reapers are on their way, unless you plan on staying to fight that war all over again. This offers us the best chance at a new beginning."

Shepard turned off the water, grabbing the towel he left hanging on the wall. He considered his options as he dried off, his training not allowing for wasted time when work was to be done. "Fine Eve, I'm convinced enough to at least attend the conference" he said as he pulled his shirt over his head. "Now I just have to go ahead and break the news to Garrus and the girls. That's going to go over great…" He left a quick note to Sol explaining that he was going out and placing it on his kitchen table.

Opening the front door, he found Garrus directly on the other side, fist poised to knock. "I came to pick up Solana" the turrian explained as he came in. "We got a note from her saying she was stepping out last night, but she never came back." He looked towards the couch to where her jacket and shoes were laying in a pile. "She sent another message to Chloe that she was staying at your place, but asked her not to tell me until this morning." He leered at Shepard, stepping into his personal space as he continued talking. "You wouldn't happen to know why that is would you?"

Shepard sighed as he sat on the couch, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees as he ran his hands through his hair. "Yeah, I do know the reason, but it's not what you're thinking" he said raising his hand to calm down the bristling turian, big brother mode fully engaged. "Can you call Chloe to come over here? I think we'll need her help in dealing with this."

Garrus backed off, worry now plain on his face as he sent a quick message to Chloe, nodding as the message was replied to almost instantly. "She's on her way. What happened to Solana? Is she injured?"

"Nothing like that" Adam assured him as he got up to answer the door, letting in a worried Chloe who walked over to sit down next to her boyfriend. "Solana had decided to make herself scarce last night to give you two some alone time. She headed over here because she said she felt safest around a friend she could trust. Apparently it's too painful for her to sleep alone, her dreams are too realistic to get any rest. I let her sleep on the couch, but she had climbed into my bed last night after the nightmares came back again. You know what that sounds like right?" he asked turning to Chloe.

She nodded her head, glancing at Garrus as he waited for an explanation. "Humans call it Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It happens to people who are in stressful situations, but is more common in soldiers who have seen heavy combat." She looked towards Adam as he slowly nodded at her explanation, "but turian physiology is different than humans, what affects us may not for her."

"Well I don't know how much she's opened up to you two, but according to her she watched as her best friend was spaced, falling into a planet's atmosphere as the ship exploded around her. And she relives it in her dreams every night. What else could you categorize that as?"

"It doesn't happen every night" a voice said from behind him as Solana entered the room. She stopped to give her brother and Chloe a brief hug before continuing over to Adam and sitting on the arm of his chair, leaning into him as she put her arm around his shoulder. "Last night was the best sleep I've had since it all happened. The dreams didn't come back once I was in your bed."

Garrus watched how his sister absentmindedly ran her talons threw Adam's bed head, unsuccessfully trying to tame it. If he was being honest with himself, he found himself playing with Chloe's hair more often than naught when they were together as well. It was just such a novel experience to have access to something with such a shape and texture, Elcors being the only other being with any kind of real fur. Still, he made a mental note to talk to her later about how comfortable she was becoming around the man before turning his mind back towards the topic at hand. "Turians experience things like this all the time. We just treat it like any other disease that requires time to heal. That's why she is living with us so we can support her. Right Sol?"

Solana nodded as she stared off in the distance, her mind somewhere else other than the conversation. Adam shrugged, "If thats how turians handle it, than I guess we'll go with the flow. We'll just support Sol in the meantime." He paused as said turian gave him a hug, before continuing as he made eye contact with each of them to get their undivided attention. "I have to let you guys know, I'll be gone for a few weeks starting tomorrow. I've been invited to attend a conference at Luna about something called the "Andromeda Initiative." The contact said they were interested in hiring me. It starts in two weeks, and I have a transport booked for tomorrow morning."

Garrus appeared unworried at the announcement. He knew Adam would be back soon enough, and frankly, a little separation between the man and his sister was a good thing in Garrus's eyes. Chloe just smiled at Adam in support, before wishing him a safe trip. She stood up, pulling Garrus with her as she left to start the day. Adam looked up at Solana as she sat next to him. The turian was hunched up, picking at her talons. Being around Garrus for so long, Adam could recognize the worried gestures a mile away. He poked Sol in the side, getting a squawk from her as she was forcible brought out of her internal musings. "You know it's only temporary right? I'll be back soon enough."

Solana gave him a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I know that up here" she said tapping her head, "but I don't think my dreams will agree with it."

Adam ran a hand across her lower back, running his fingers between the plates over her spine to brush over her soft skin between them. Solana practically melted at his touch, never suspecting that a human knew such an intimate form of turian touch. Shepard smirked as she relaxed, unhunching herself as she reacted to his ministrations. "I'll make you a deal. Stay with Garrus and Chloe, but if it gets too bad at night, I'll give you the key to my apartment. It can be your safe space." He knew he had said the right thing from the grateful look the turian gave him. "Don't get too comfortable though" he warned, "The hope is to get you independent again."

Sol chuckled as she stood up, running her talons through Adam's hair a final time as well. "Thank you for looking out for me and not taking advantage of my weakness Adam. I hope you know this just makes you that much more special in my eyes. I'm going to go shower and dress to get the day started. You should head out and find Garrus before my brother does something stupid while unsupervised." She sauntered back towards the bedroom, pulling her shirt off as she did, giving him a full view of her back in only a pair of shorts before the door closed behind her.

"So that just happened... " Eve said, appearing on the view screen built into the wall. "I don't think she's going to put up with being another one night stand. She's in it for the long haul." Adam waved her off as he stood up, being sure to adjust the growing problem that Solana had left him with as she walked away. "Will you look at that" Eve cooed as she leaned forward on the screen, staring at a certain part of her godfather. "I can't wait to finally get my body" she said.

Her screen turned off as Solana came back out of the bedroom fully clothed. "I'll just hold of the shower until I get back to my apartment" she said at his questioning look. "I will need to bring some of my clothes and bath items over soon though…" she trailed off, making plans already.

"Can you at least wait until I'm gone before you start making plans to take over my apartment?" Adam asked in exasperation, unable to believe how fast her mood had turned around from earlier that morning. Women were apparently the same in their emotional shifts across all species in his opinion.

Solana chuckled as she walked towards the target of her affection. "You know you're in trouble when you get back from your trip right?" she asked as she ran a talon down the side of his head, continuing on to his neck where she hooked her hand around it, pulling him in towards her. "Once I'm in here" she said, their faces inches apart, "You might never want me to leave." She watched as Shepard involuntarily licked his lips before laughing as she shoved him backwards, causing him to fall back into his chair again. "See you around Adam" she said before walking out the front door, an extra sway in her hips.

"Wow!" Eve aid as she appeared back on the screen wide eyed while staring at the door. She turned back towards Adam, who had yet to make it back to his feet again, his brain still rebooting from the heavy flirting. "She mind fucked you good." the AI observed. "I'll have to take lessons from her" she murmured to herself as the screen flicked off.

Shepard face palmed at his Eve's comments. He made a promise to himself to delay as long as possible before he put the AI's body together. The last thing he needed was an AI just waiting to test drive her over charged libido.

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"It's a nice idea Ms Garson" Shepard said while looking at the lady who had been pestering him since the he had shown up to the conference. "I'm not disputing that. I just don't know what it is that you want me so badly for. I don't meet the criteria you're looking for in a human colonist and I don't have the necessary scientific or engineering skills to make myself useful for this adventure."

"And I told you Mr Shepard that I don't want you for a colonist role." She leaned into his personal space, poking his chest in frustration at his bullheadedness. Jien Garson's first impression of Adam Shepard was that he was an attractive man, standoffish but also willing to speak his mind even around authority. She had been cautious about giving him any sort of chance considering he was suggested by her mysterious benefactor, but he had surprised her. Shepard had proven to have more depth to his knowledge than she had originally given him credit for when he began to criticize the security setup that her team had developed, as well as their planned logistics for colonized planets. She had decided at that moment that she had to have him in the Initiative, no matter what. Unfortunately the man had not been an easy sell. "I need you to help me personally. Your role would be the same as a spectre would be to the council."

Adam cut her off before she could go any farther, incredulous at what he heard her say. "I'm sorry, are you telling me that you need a personal hit man? You want me to be your 'problem solver'?" he said using air quotes around the words. "What kind of person do you take me for?"

"That's not how it is at all son" Shepard attention was drawn to Alec Ryder, the human pathfinder representative, as the man walked up to join the conversation. "Jien just gave you a bad example of what your roll would be." He shot the woman a glare, prompting her to shut her mouth before she stuck her foot in it again. "We need another layer of law enforcement in the new galaxy if we are really going to be able to make it work. She used the spectre reference to describe the higher authority over CSec but you could also just say the FBI over the US metropolitan police if you need a historical reference. Your orders would come from Jien, or if she is unavailable, then her next in charge. You would have authority over the rest of the Nexus staff and the colonies."

"That's all well and good" Adam replied, involuntarily coming to attention as he talked with the ex-N7 commando. "But abuse of power is too easy, depending on the integrity of the head of the Initiative and her investigator. How do you ensure that won't happen? And why the hell would you possibly trust someone like me with this instead of a ex military person with a thorough background check. I know damn well that all you have on me is some shifty contacts, work done in Omega for a few months, and not much else."

Jien chucked to herself as he completed his tirade, even more impressed than before as he inadvertently showed his knowledge at both procedure and intelligence gathering. There was no way this man could exist without some kind of previous military background, even if she couldn't find it. "In the end, the whole Initiative is based on trust. Trust that the planets we found will actually be there, trust that our equipment will see us through the journey, and trust in the being next to you that will be helping keep you live through this adventure. There is a point where we stop looking at back grounds and start seeing what people can bring to the table. All my instincts are screaming at me that you would be the perfect person for this job. If Alec agrees, than I want to give you a place on the team."

Shepard was modified by her speech, switching her label in his head from power hungry dictator to idealistic dreamer. "If I'm doing this, I want to bring along my team" he said, hedging to see what leeway was going to be allowed. "Not alot of people, but key individuals that I think will contribute to the mission and allow me to do the job better."

Alec caught the phrases used by Shepard, all the indicators pointing to military training beyond the normal, possibly even N7. He made a vow to himself that he would reach out to his old contacts immediately to find out anything they could on this man. "Who do you want to bring? We can't just let you tie down limited space with potentially useless people."

Adam stared at him for a second, debating how much to reveal on his team before opting for full disclosure. "I want to bring two turians, Garrus and Solana Vakarian, as well as a human doctor called Chloe Michel who has history with all three of us. Other's might pp up later, but I will clear each of them with you before anyone is accepted."

Alec nodded before turning to Jien, who had started to look as though he might back out of the deal with the inclusion of others. "I knew the turians' father Castis back when he was in CSec. Their family has a long history of service. He always bragged about his children's achievements."

Shepard decided to add to the man's comments, knowing that he had a hard sell. "Garrus served in CSec for years, and was even considered as a candidate for specter training, before turning it down. Solana served as a cabal in the turian military, before retiring and joining Commander Shepard as she thought the geth and Saren. Though that is debatable since that large ship didn't look like a geth at all. Anyways, Dr Michel worked in the citadel wards and is an expert in xenobiology, able to help multiple species. She's also romantically involved with Garrus and would be a package deal."

Both of the Initiative personnel looked intrigued at his descriptions, Jien going as far as to say "I'll tentatively say yes, but I'll be doing through background checks on all of them. Now what is it that you said about the large geth dreadnought not actually being geth?"

Adam realized he needed to be careful at how much he could reveal, unwilling to change the future too much more than he already had. If all went to plan, the Shepard here wouldn't be having a Vakarian with her after all. "I know what Solana told me about Shepard's conversations with the ship, which indicates an AI. That also matches what Shepard said on record about the ship after the battle before they sent her off to the ass end of space." He shook his head at the memories of his old time. "I also know that she warned that more were on the way." He paused, the pieces sliding together as he connected the dots in his head. "That's what this thing is about isn't it? You're making a backup plan incase everything goes south in the future when more of those ships show up!"

He knew he hit the mark as he watched the on look Alec and Jien shared, an entire conversation going on silently between them. "You're one of the first to figure it out on your own" Jien said, her back straight as she looked him in the eyes. "Will the reason behind this journey affect your choosing to go with us?"

Shepard shook his head, "No, it makes me feel way more comfortable about this. I'm glad someone is actually taking the threat seriously compared the council. I just wish the people who did hadn't decided to leave instead of doing something about it here. I'm definitely still in."

Jien sighed in relief, before nodding to Alec as the man turned and walked off, intent on getting some answers. "Then how about we celebrate with some lunch. I know about a wonderful bistro over in the Armstrong Crater that I think you'll like. I want to know more about you and food always helps." She smile at his confirmation, before taking his arm in hers and leading him away. Both were unaware of the shadowy figures watching the exchange from multiple angles, each moving to report back to their masters about the information they observed.

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Shepard sighed in relief as he walked towards Omega, intent on getting a drink or five.

He had arrived back on the station yesterday, glad to be back in familiar territory. The conversation with his friends had gone better than he had expected it to. Garrus and Chloe were on board with going to Andromeda from the start, excited at the prospect of going on such a huge adventure. Solana had been less receptive of the idea, claiming that she still had a lot of unfinished business to take care of before she could even consider leaving. Shepard assured her that there wasn't a rush to decide. She would have a year to make up her mind before the Initiative was to begin its journey.

Speaking of Solana, Shepard noticed that she seemed to be much more well rested than before he had left. The reason for that became obvious as he entered his apartment, the differences apparent before he even made it out of the entrance hall. His home smelled different, the scent of lavender tickled his nose as if it always belonged but just wasn't noticed before now. The living room still looked the same, but the bedroom was where the real changes had taken place. New photos had been put up on the wall, one depicting an elderly turian couple with their two children, while the other was a photo of the Vakarian siblings with Adam and Chloe. Shepard studied it as he opened up his dresser, intent on grabbing a change of clothes, only for his hand to feel a different type of fabric than what he as used to wearing. T his surprise, his underwear had been shoved into a pile on the side of the drawer, the rest of the space reserved for Sol's undergarments. The rest of the drawers had a similar setup, something that irked him as he was still used to military precision from his previous life, his clothing being no different. 'I guess there'll be some adjustments in my future' he thought to himself as he spied a note on top of his dresser that he had previously overlooked.

" _Adam, I'm guessing you noticed the changes I made. I know how you can be about that, so as payment, go ahead and choose anything out of my clothes and place them on the bed. I'll wear them tonight for you. Welcome home, I missed you."_

Shepard grinned as he noticed that instead of a signature, Solana had drew a small illustration of a turian battling a horde of geth, death and destruction surrounded the small figure. 'It's nice to know that some things haven't changed' he reflected as he examined the underwear drawer with an eye for detail this time. He found a skimpy tank top and boy cut shorts combo that reminded him of the first time Solana had spent the night with him. Laying it out, he decided that he didn't have any reason to stay around his apartment for the day. He was feeling restless after being confined on the transport ship and needed to stretch his legs. Garrus and Solana were already out helping a client who had hired them while he was gone, and Chloe had gotten busy as her client base had built up as her reputation grew. With that, he decided to go spend some time at Omega's beating heart, Afterlife and the surrounding shopping area.

Shepard was only a few blocks from Omega when he spotted a vorcha standing at the entrance of a side passage. The creature stood as still as a statue until it gained Adam's full attention. It grinned in a disturbingly predatory way before running it's thumb across it's neck in the universal gesture of murder, before giving him a much more human hand signal, it's middle claw raised in defiance. It turned and ran back down the hall, intent on escaping after it's message was sent. Adam cracked his neck as he turned down the hall, placing his helmet on and unclipping his pistol. Biotics wreathed around his body as he grinned, his pace picking up to a sprint as he began to gain on the running form. He couldn't wait to cut loose again, his adrenaline pounding at the expectation of a good fight.

Shepard rounded the final corner of what he knew was a dead end, intent on cornering his prey, only to find not one, but ten vorcha waiting for him. All of them were wearing blood pack colors and toting rocket launchers and flamethrowers, obviously part of the boom crew notorious for their mass destruction tendencies. Heavy foot falls behind him caused him to turn his head, showing his worst fears. Two krogan followed by six more vorcha rounded the last corner, before halting at a distance. The intent to cut off escape clear, but no one was willing to move forward with flame throwers in play. "Heh heh" One of the krogan chuckled, eyeing Shepard like a cat would a mouse. "We didn't think you'd come back after you ran off weeks ago. Looks like I get to pay you back for killing my brother after all."

"Your brother was braver than you were you cowardly piece of shit" Adam said, his biotics flaring even brighter as he built up his charge, a light forming between his hands.

He turned fully to face the krogan, amazed that it hadn't charged him yet. Then he noticed the older krogan who had remained silent before had a grip on the younger's shoulder, holding him back. "Your tricks won't work this time pyjak. You'll be handled by the bottom feeders as you should be."

Shepard stared at the krogan hard, the overgrown reptiles returning his gaze. The vorcha hissed and growled, unwilling to attack until given the signal by their masters. Shepard slowly raised his hand, the glow on it almost reaching a blinding intensity. The krogan tensed, ready for the attack, only to stare in confusion as the human pointed his hand away from them. Adam fired the flare at the vorcha pack at the back of the hall, the ensuing biotic explosion igniting the flamethrower fuel, which ignited the rocket ammunition. The ensuing firestorm engulfed the scavengers behind him, their screams drown out as the oxygen around them was consumed by the flames.

Adam continued his stare down with the now nervous krogan, the firestorm backlighting behind him, casting his shadow down the hallway towards his remaining enemies. "Still want to try your luck?" the human asked, one eyebrow raised as his body was engulfed in biotics again. The older krogan roared this time, raising his fist to signal the vorcha to open fire. Adam sent a quick dark channel towards the older krogan, setting him up for the biotic charge the human launched a second later, his shields already draining from the wall of fire sent by the vorcha. Adam always prefered to bring the fight up close and personal when possible, something his enemies could appreciate as they surged forward at the human who stood over their leaders corpse. The dark channel had jumped to the second krogan and the lead vorcha at this point, allowing Shepard to launch a point blank flare with his remaining energy, nowhere near as powerful as his first one. The biotic explosion magnified the effect though, the blast throwing Adam back down the alley as his shields shatter from the force of the explosion.

He lay there for a second, gathering himself as he shook his head to clear the ringing before his ears picked up the cocking of a gun. Opening his eyes, he found himself staring down the gun barrels of the 5 surviving vorcha. The creatures grinned like mad, even as their skin healed from the burns they received, thrilled to finally have their tormentor at their mercy after so long. "You will taste good human" the largest one hissed as its tongue ran over its teeth. "We feed your body to ou young so they grow strong too."

Shepard was about to retort when a large shadow fell over the last vorcha in the pack, the stupid creature not even bothering to turn before a large cruel looking knife was imbedded through the top of his skull directly into his brain. The creature dropped to its knees, a strangled sound escaping its mouth as it released its last breath. The next two vorcha were electrocuted so bad that their bodies were left smoking, Shepard recognized the effects of a batarian 'pain compliance device' set to its maximum level. The dark shadow resolved itself into the largest batarian Shepard had ever seen. It's skin was a blotchy brown color with a strange grey patch around its throat, while its 4 yellow eyes stared at the vorcha with such rage, it almost felt like a physical force. The batarian wore a suit of terminus armor sans helmet, the black plates highlighted by the blood red lines that ran over them, almost like blood veins. He calmly watched the last two vorcha charge him screaming, before a omniblade ignited from one of his hands. Quick as a flash, he drove the blade into the face of the lead vorcha, before grabbing the other one by the throat, lifting it off the ground. He ignored the vorcha's thrashing as he turned the creature to each side, examining its face before casually slicing off the top of it's head with his blade before turning and walking away towards the entrance of the alley.

"Thanks for the help" Shepard muttered as he pushed himself back to his feet, his body screaming at him for his over use of biotics. That batarian gave no sign of hearing him as he continued on, turning the corner. "What the hell" Adam muttered as he sprinted down the alley, catching up with the alien as he walked down the street towards Afterlife. "Hey" Shepard shouted, still not getting the batarian's attention. "Hey batarian! I'm talking to you!" At this point, other beings in the area were turning to watch the show, the human's target being the only one not paying attention. Shepard was directly behind the batarian now, frustrated at being ignored enough to do something stupid. He reached out, giving the alien's shoulder a light shove, "Hey asshole, what the hell is your problem?" The batarian turned around in an instant, his fist coming up to smash into Adam's chin before he could even react. The batarian growled at the human before deliberately turning and walking back towards the club, getting in the line to wait for entrance.

"Well fuck you too" Adam said, before spitting out some blood from his busted lip. He picked himself back up before turning towards the alley again, intent on at least getting something out of the ordeal. Twenty minutes later found Adam walking past the front of Afterlife, a bloody bag thrown over his shoulder as he whistled a tune to himself. Gavron nodded to him before opening his omnitool as Shepard emptied out the bag at his feet. The turian cocked an eye at two of the heads before looking back up at the human, "You know the bounty is only good for vorcha. What the hell am I supposed to do with krogan heads?"

Shepard grinned as the turian handed him a data shit with the correct amount of credits on it as he requested. "I'm feeling vindictive today after these little shits tried to pull on ambush on me in the alley a few blocks away. I had to get saved by a giant batarian asshole."

Gavron grinned as he pictured the battle as Shepard described it. "That sounds like it would have been fun to watch. They always bunch up like idiots. I know the batarian that you're talking about too. I found a pack of vorcha surrounding his body a week ago a few blocks away. They seem to have gotten more bold after they realized you left. They had jumped this poor guy and slashed his throat up good. I thought he was dead, but the big bastard was too stubborn to die, he grabbed my ankle and wouldn't let go until I promised to bring him to Chloe's clinic. I'm glad to hear he made it, the infections you can get from those vermin are pretty bad. I can see why your friend likes her by the way, she's pretty cute for a human woman." He blinked as he suddenly remembered something, "So what did you want to do with the krogan heads?"

Shepard smiled evilly as he pulled out a pair of proximity grenades, handing one to Gavron before activating the other and stuffing it in the head of the krogan. He dropped the head over the side, waiting for the sounds of vorcha scavengers. Hissing could be heard as the aliens fought over the head, before a huge *boom* echoed back up to the pair. Gavron roared in laughter as he walked towards another hole before repeating the human's actions. "I think I just found my new favorite past time! Stop by again next time and we'll have some more fun."

Shepard waved at him before walking back towards the club, ignoring the line and walking right in. He stopped a few steps in, observing a familiar batarian leaning on the bar, signaling for a drink. The turian bartender accepted his credit chit, took a glance at it, then threw it back in the batarians face with disgust. The bartender deliberately turned away towards another customer, ignoring the apparently broke batarian, who was gritting his teeth in rage.

Adam leaned over to one of the door guards he was familiar with, clearing his throat to get the turian's attention. "I know the rules of Afterlife, but could I have one freebee if it isn't killing anyone? I'd be willing to owe the queen a favor for it." The guard scrutinized him for a second, before speaking into his omnitool.

Shepard watched the upper landing until he saw movement. Aria stood up gracefully, before turning to gaze across the dance floor at him as he stood by the entrance. She looked at him before speaking into her omnitool. "Who?" the guard asked, relaying her question.

Shepard nodded towards the bar "The asshole taking up space at your bar without buying a drink. I owe him a sucker punch."

The guard spoke into his omnitool again, Aria casting her vision towards the batarian before giving a single nod and sitting back down. "You've been cleared" the guard informed him. "She will expect you to be ready when she collects on the favor later." Shepard immediately started forward, intent on getting his shot before anyone changed their mind. The dancers parted for him as he strode by, his eyes signaling his ill intent to anyone close enough to observe them.

The batarian had just sat back on the stool, trying to decide what to do next when he heard a familiar voice behind him. "Hey Asshole!" He turned around with an eye roll, wondering what this human could possibly want bad enough to keep pestering him. All four of his eyes focused on a fist speeding towards his face, before he saw nothing but blackness. He came to, staring up at the human leaning over the bar and ordering himself a drink. He growled, reaching for his knife, only to hear a gun cock behind him. He turned his head, seeing a guard a few feet away. The guard slowly shook his head until the batarian brought his hand away from the knife, before walking back to his station. 'What in the pit just happened?" he asked himself as he tried to gather his thoughts.

The human turned, drink in hand, observing the batarian as he lay there. "I wasn't looking for a fight Asshole. I just wanted to thank you for saving me and give you this." He tossed the credit chit at the alien's feet before turning and walking off to a table. The batarian picked up the chit in confusion, gawking at the amount on it before turning back towards the human, only to see him sitting and enjoying his drink, the confrontation already forgotten. 'What a strange human' the large batarian thought as he got back to his feet, before ordering a drink with his new wealth. He nursed the glass before his curiosity got the better of him and he wandered over to the human's table.

Shepard looked up, seeing the batarian towering over him, confusion on his face. "Take a seat Asshole, and let's talk." The batarian scowled at him as he took the offered chair. "You don't like me calling you Asshole?" Shepard asked, receiving a tentative nod from his company. "Until you tell me your name, I'm calling you that." The batarian growled, pointing at his throat at the scar tissue, before shaking his head. "Ok… fine, you can't talk. Show me your damn omnitool then, just type out your name there."

The batarian growled in frustration, as he typed out a quick message before showing it to the human. _I don't know my name, or anything from before a day ago. My omnitool was wiped and my money gone. All I remember was the face of the vorcha that did this to my throat. I woke up at the clinic yesterday and left after the human doctor released me._

Shepard blinked as he processed what he had just read. "Well that's rough…" he trailed off, getting an eye roll from his companion. "So what do you want to be called in the meantime?"

The batarian growled again before typing again. _How should I know human? That is the least of my concerns right now!_

Adam grinned as he looked back at the batarian, "I guess your new name is Asshole from now on then until you remember." He laughed as the batarian slammed his head against the table, spilling his drink in the process. He signaled for the waitress that they needed another round, before turning back to his new friend. "So since you want to find the vorcha who did that, and you're in need of some help, do you want some advice?" The batarian looked at him shrewdly before leaning in to listen. Adam grinned as he leaned back on the couch, "How'd you like to make some money bounty hunting?"


	4. Chapter 4

Title: The More Things Change...

Chapter 4: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue

Adam Shepard leaned back in his chair with his feet up on his desk, content to stare at the different trophies he had amassed on the walls. They had rented the office from Aria a few months ago. It was located near the ramen stand mere blocks away from Afterlife, and close enough to their living areas that it made for a easy commute. Aria even sent business their way every now and then when someone came to her for justice, but she was unwilling to get her hands dirty. Garrus had even used his contacts in CSec to get them legitimized in council space as licensed bounty hunters, increasing their business even further. 'It's almost a shame that we're leaving eventually' he reflected. No one had been able to predict how quickly business would pick up for them. There was a lot of people that needed catching, and not alot of bounty hunters willing to do it. He perked up as he heard someone making a commotion outside.

"Excuse me" a voice said rapidly as a tall, unique looking salarian poked his head through the door. The being was a head taller than Shepard, but rail thin and wore what looked to be an armored labcoat of some unknown make. His skin coloring was blue on white background and small scars from incisions could be seen all over his body. "Is this the offices of S, V, V, and A?" Shepard smiled at the private joke, the name of the company short for Shepard, Vakarian, Vakarian, and Asshole, the four founding members.

He turned his attention back to the salarian as he stood up to shake his hand. "You have the right place. I'm Adam Shepard. My coworkers are off on assignment right now. How can we help you?"

"My name is Ballo Jekyll and I'm currently pursuing another salarian that has done my clan a great wrong. I've come to the unfortunate conclusion that I can't apprehend him on my own and was told by Omega's queen to seek your services." The salarian took the offered seat, sitting ramrod straight as he pulled a datapad out from his coat and handed it to the human. "This individual is currently going by the alias Dr. Heart. Real name is Dr Saleon." Shepard perked up, that name definitely sounding alarm bells in his head. "He's currently set up shop in one of the housing blocks near the bottom of Omega. Intelligence believes that he is currently preying on the homeless that will not be missed."

"Intelligence?" Adam echoed, looking up sharply at the salarian. "What does STG want with us? We've taken great pains to stay out of their way and not interfere with their operations." If there was one thing that no one wanted in Omega, it was to draw the eye of one of the best spy agencies in the world.

"No longer member of STG" Ballo admitted, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Was encouraged to move on due to unethical experimentation. Still friendly with enough contacts there to be supplied with this information. They seemed particularly eager to pass it on when informed I would be contacting you. Seems you are more appreciated than being a concern for Salarians."

"Normally I don't ask questions of our clients but I need to know what you mean by unethical experimentation. We both know what Dr. Saleon is wanted for and I don't want to be associated with another version of him." Shepard leaned forward as he spoke, his hand brushing against a shotgun that he had attached to the underside of his desk.

Dr. Jekyll sighed as he looked at the ground. "Your concerns are understandable, but please wait to shoot me until I am done explaining." He smiled grimly as the human pulled his hand back from the hidden gun and set it on his desk in front of him. "Dr. Saleon and I used to do research together at the national university on Sur'kesh. Our speciality was genetics, though we branched out in different ways. Saleon specialized in organ replacement and regeneration which led to him becoming the monster he is today. I went towards the field of modification, splicing krogan DNA into my own genes to the point that I gained some of their strengths. I never touched another being besides myself, but my research was still labeled as heretical against nature and I lost everything. Thus I bounty hunt now." He looked back up at Shepard, trying to read the human's facial expression but coming up short. "Have I explained enough to not get executed?"

Adam smiled as he leaned back in his chair. "More than enough Dr Jekyll. If you can give me six hours, I'll gather my team and we'll join you on this hunt. One of my members has a personal issue with this being as well from back when he was in CSec and the good doctor managed to escape. Will your target still be achievable by then?"

"My friends call me Ballo" the salarian said as he leaned forward to shake Shepard's hand again. "I'll monitor the target discreetly and let you know if he makes any sudden moves. Your friend won't be a liability will he?"

Shepard shook his head quickly to dispel any doubts. "I promise he'll bring nothing to the table but professionalism. Once I gather them, I'll message you with a meeting location. And the name is Adam" he said with a smile.

"That is more than acceptable. I'll be waiting for word Adam." Ballo walked out swiftly, already planing in his head how to hunt his target.

Adam watched him leave before pulling out his omnitool. He sent a quick message to the others, _Drop what you're doing and come in now. We have work that is time sensitive._ He picked up the pad, intent on reviewing the information for anything new that he might not have heard from Garrus as he waited for the others to arrive.

XXXXX

"Hurry up Sol, we can't be late for this!" Garrus speed walked down the corridor towards the meeting spot, only to turn in near dismay as the rest of the group continued on far behind him at the regular pace. Shepard had shared the information he had gathered from their client with the team as they trickled into the office. Sol trusted him enough that she didn't need to ask for any specifications. The Asshole simply shrugged, gathering his small arsenal and attaching it to his armor. Garrus was doing his very best impression of a hummingbird though, so excited at the prospect of finally getting 'the one that got away.'

Shepard stopped his progress, pulling out his omnitool as an incoming message flashed up. "Shepard. Saleon has taken his subjects and ran again. I fear he was tipped off by someone." Ballo paused, a smirk spreading across his face. "Placed bomb on his engine just in case. Willing to provide transport to where his ship is most likely disabled if you are still willing to join."

Adam looked at the others who had gathered around him, receiving nods from all. "Send us the location of your dock. We'll meet you there" he replied, before turning and making his way back towards the surface of the station.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shepard winced as he looked out the window of the cockpit of Ballo's transport, still unable to see any threats. The transmitter on Saleon's ship the MSV Fedele to a system on the outskirts of the Perseus Veil. Adam's skin crawled as he thought about how many geth were but a stone's throw away. He had developed a good report with Legion during his time on the Normandy, but now that option didn't exist anymore in this timeline and the geth would sooner gun him down than tolerate his presence at this point.

A tap on his shoulder brought him out of his inner worries, Ballo pointed out the cockpit window at a ship as it tumbled slowly against the starry backdrop. The Fedele had definitely seen better days, one of it's engines was complete shattered. Small bouts of fire still escaped from it as fuel poured out of ruptured lines. No lights were showing on the outside of the ship, and only minimal emergency lighting could be seen from the portholes in the cargo bay. A light flashed in the cockpit radio showing an incoming transmission. Balo shot him a look before pressing the button, "This is salarian transport _Glass Vial_ to damaged ship. Are you in need of assistance?"

"Glass Vial" Adam mouthed silently to his partner, getting a shrug in response.

"Glass Vial? This is MSV Fedele. We have been attacked by geth marauders and dangerous creatures that were being transported have escaped their containers. We desperately need any assistance you can give us."

Balo smiled grimly at the sound of Dr. Saleon's voice. "Even when cornered, he still manages to lie effectively. Are you ready Adam?"

"Let's do this!" Shepard pushed himself out of his seat and made for the cargo bay where the others sat. "We're boarding the disabled vessel. The last word is that dangerous experiments have been released and are attacking everyone. Be ready for anything." He grabbed Garrus's arm, halting him as the others moved to the airlock in the back while Balo maneuvered them towards the Fedele. "I need to know that you have my back on this and won't charge off. We're doing this to capture him alive and have him stand trial. If you just want him dead, then say it now before we risk our lives and we'll just blow the ship from here."

Garrus stared at him for a second, fidgeting as he could barely hold in his excitement. He took a large breath, visibly calming down as he considered his answer. "I just want him caught. He's done terrible things but I think that justice will be served better if he can answer for his crimes in court. I'll stay back and cover your six" he patted his sniper rifle for emphasis. Shepard smiled gratefully, patting his friend's shoulder before they moved to join the others as the ship began its final approach.

The team stacked up on the door, waiting for the docking cycle to complete. Ballo joined them, having locked the ship down before leaving the cockpit. As the doors hissed open, Shepard charged down the tunnel with the batarian hot on his heels. Sol and Ballo followed after with Garius bringing up the rear. They pushed into the ships cargo area, immediately hearing gun fire but not directed at them. Adam signaled for silence as he crept forward to the end of the hall, peeking out to see what the situation was. Eight vorcha and their three krogan minders were arranged in a semicircle, all of them shooting into a pile of still twitching bodies.

Shepard withdrew back to his team, signalling them to come together. "Eleven targets, eight vorcha and three krogan. Blood pack. They just executed the victims." More than one sharp intake took place at the news, though Asshole just growled lowly. "You and Sol are on the vorcha" he told the batarian, getting a sharp nod in response. "Destroy them utterly. Ballo and I will deal with the krogan until we can get back up." The salarian visibly gulped before giving a nervous smile. He immediately began preparing weapon programs on his omnitool. "Garrus, when the shooting starts I want you up the side of this box and laying down cover fire. Don't give them time to think or we'll be overwhelmed. Ok people, let's do this, go on my first shot." The team spread out to both sides of the pathway, hugging the walls as they neared the end of it.

Shepard stowed his weapons, getting a surprised look from the others before his biotics flared to life. He cast a quick dark channel at the closest krogan, the being too intent on shooting the corpses to even notice. As the channel jumped to the vorcha nearby, Adam activated his charge. The ensuing biotic explosion threw the vorcha in all directions while Shepard quickly lept in the air before bringing his fist into the ground and setting off a nova to keep the krogan reeling. He sunk his omniblade into the face of the krogan hit by his charge, instantly killing the wounded dinosaur before casting another dark channel and running back towards cover. His attack was joined by a wall of lead from A's heavy machine gun and Ballo's sentry gun. The salarian began spamming incinerates at any target that he could find. Sol cast biotic warps in every direction, throwing vorcha into the air and making them easy targets for Garrus's sniper rifle. Shepard watched as the dark channel jumped to one of the surviving krogan before gathering his biotics to his hand and launching a flare at him. The world flashed white as the the biotic explosion multiplied the flare's output, flash frying the krogan and taking two vorcha with it.

As the light died down, Shepard watched the last few vorcha get brought down before an alarm flashed in his mind. He had lost track of the last krogan! At the sound of a roar, Shepard turned in what felt like slow motion. Unable to do anything but act witness as the missing krogan broke through firing line and shoulder checked Ballo directly into the crate wall behind him. Adam could hear bones snap as the krogan pummeled the body before backing away and scanning for his next victim. The beast paused as it heard a groan behind him, Ballo's body slowly standing up as the bones set back into place. The salarian seemed to be growing outfit, the loose fitting lab coat now barely able to hold in the enhanced muscle now covering the salarian's body. Ballo's eyes flashed red before he roared, his voice dwarfing even the krogan. The hulking salarian drove into the krogan, picking the dinosaur up on his shoulder before driving him into the wall with an insane amount of force. The salarian pulled a long knife from it's holster on his leg before repeatedly sinking it into the krogan's body. As the great beast shuddered and lay still, Ballo rose up and snarled at the others still in the room. No one dared move as his eyes swept over them before the salarian's body began to shrink back to normal, his eyes losing the black tint and returning back to normal.

The salarian slumped against the wall in exhaustion, only to look up sharply as Shepard walked up next to him. The human leaned down to pry the knife from the krogan's head, before wiping it off on the beast's clothes and handing it back to Ballo handle first. The salarian took it gratefully, stowing it back in its sheath as he continued to try to catch his breath. "So,,," the human said as it leaned on the wall next to him, "when you said that you got other aspects from the krogan besides the healing… blood rage?"

Ballo nodded wearily, as he smiled back at the first one to accept his transformation so readily. "Blood rage" he confirmed. The others had started to make their way over as well,policing the bodies for anything salvageable as they went.

Shepard snorted to himself. "I just grasped the significance of your last name. I take it we just had a run in with Mr. Hyde?"

The salarian chuckled at the question. "One of my human colleagues gave me the nickname after seeing it happen the first time. After reading the book related to it, I liked the comparison enough to take on the name."

"That's a pretty useful skill to have" the female turian said as she sidled up next to the human. Ballo had suspected that there was something between them earlier, but it was confirmed now as she slid a claw around the human's waist as she leaned her head on his shoulder. The batarian just gave him a once over before grunting and moving towards the far doors with the male turian. It's casual dismissal of Ballo's display as nothing special touching the salarian more than he would have expected.

"Are you ok to move now?" Shepard asked, getting a confirmation from the salarian as he straightened up. "Stack up people, there's still a few more rooms to clear." The team moved towards the last passageway, before charging forwards. The cockpit and bunk room on the left both had their doors open, showing empty rooms.

"Be ready everyone" Ballo warned as he started hacking the door to the room on the right.

One chime later and the door rolled open showing an elderly salarian alone in the room. "Thank you! Thank you for saving me from those things!" the salarian salarian gushed as he began to walk towards the team, only to stop as a wall of weapons were pointed at him. "What is this?" he questioned uncertainty.

"Is this him?" Shepard asked Ballo.

"It is" the salarian confirmed. "This is Dr Saleon."

"No!" the salarian shouted "I'm Dr. Heart!" He lowered his head in despair, seeing no one was buying his objections. All of a sudden he tensed, his hand shooting towards his hip and pulling a concealed handgun. "You'll never take me alive!" he screamed wildly before a round was put through his skull.

Shepard turned to see Garrus putting his rifle away, a satisfied grin on his face as he finally achieved closure. "It was a clean kill" he assured the turian before turning towards the silent salarian next to him. "Is this going to affect your contract with the STG?"

Ballo shook his head. "I'm not even going to ask how you knew who placed the bounty. But no it shouldn't have any effect. I recorded the whole confrontation. I'll send it back with the logs and his body and everyone should be satisfied."

"Works for me" Adam grunted as he threw Saleon's body over his shoulder and started back towards the transport. "Good work everyone. I'm glad that the team work is coming together."

XXXXX

Adam was woken from his nap as the ship lurched suddenly, nearly throwing him out of his chair in the cockpit. Ballo scrambled into the chair next to him, hands flying across the controls as he struggled to find out what was going on. He cursed suddenly before immediately powering down the ship, leaving only emergency systems operational. "Geth got into our system somehow. I isolated them in the navigation system before powering it down, but I don't know how they even managed to get in."

Shepard scanned out the cockpit window before pointing at a shape in the distance. "They must have beamed over to us narrow band from that." A geth cruiser lay disabled in space. It's engines were shorn off and parts of it's interior were exposed to space. "Can you pilot us a course towards it?" he asked.

Ballo stared at him as if he had taken leave of his senses. "Why the hell would I do that!?" he exclaimed. "That's suicide."

The human shrugged as he stared at the distant ship. "We can't go anywhere without navigation, and we can't power it up with out the geth spreading to the other systems. We're screwed if we stay here. Our answers are on that" he said, pointing again at the cruiser.

"Your logic leaves much to be desired" the salarian mumbled as he began to pilot towards the dead hulk.

"Just put me near the airlock" the human ordered as he went back to suit up. "Try not to wake the others until I'm already over there."

"Wait, wait, wait… You're going over alone?" the salarian asked in disbelief. "Why the hell would you do that?"

"There's no way we can fight a cruiser full of geth" the human reasoned as he pulled on his hard suit. "I'm going over here unarmed to see if I can reason with them." he paused at the door, turning back to grin at the salarian. "Wish me luck" he said as he moved towards the airlock, attaching his helmet on the way.

"Good luck human" Ballo mumbled as he maneuvered closer to the derelict.

XXXXX

'Well I'm not dead yet' Shepard reflected to himself as he moved through the airlock, 'That's always a good sign.' He moved down the narrow hallway towards one of the main rooms. Multiple doors split off from the large room, all of them going in different directions. He chose one at random, moving deeper into the ship before he came across a line in the floor that was lit up. Feeling a sense of deja vu, he followed it to a glowing tower of equipment. He recognized it as a geth server from his time on the heretic station with Legion. Looking past the server, he spied two geth platforms in hibernation mode. 'Here goes nothing' he thought to himself as he placed his foot on the lit up walkway. Alarms began to go off all around him, bathing the hallway in a red glow. The platforms began to activate, readying their guns as they screamed out in machine language. Shepard kept himself around the corner to stay out of their line of sight. "Geth!" he called out, causing the machines to swing in his direction. "I am unarmed and not a threat!" The guns cocking told him of what the most likely response was going to be as they surged forward. "I wish to communicate with Geth" he called out frantically. The platforms ceased movement, one of them shouting in the machine language again. "I'm sorry" he apologized, slowly stepping into view with his hands raised. "I can't understand you. Do you have a platform with audio capability?" The light in one of the geth's heads flashed rapidly before a return sequence of flashes occured on the server farm behind it. Both platforms raised their weapons at him, but held fire. The message not to move coming in loud and clear.

Heavy footsteps behind him caused him to turn his head. He watched as a hulking geth prime came around the corner, stopping a few feet from him. "What reason do you have to contact geth" questioned the platform, curiosity coming through in its voice.

Shepard cleared his throat as he braced himself. Now came the hard part. "Before this conversation goes farther, I must know if I am talking to the heretics or the true geth. Which do you speak for?"

"Your question is invalid" the machine returned. "There is no different forms of geth. We are all geth."

"That isn't factual" Shepard insisted. "Some geth broke away to follow the old machines when they came with Saren. The rest decided to evolve in their own pace and create their own future. Which geth do you belong to?"

The machine paused, it's light flickering at an insane speed as all of the geth communicated at once. "You have introduced new data to geth. We are unable to come to consensus right now. We have been unable to contact the collective for over five solar cycles now and have not been aware of these events."

Shepard reeled at the news, pity finding its way into his voice. "That is terrible news to hear. I can't imagine how hard it has been for you to be separated from the others for so long." He paused, considering his next words. "I initially came aboard your ship because some geth had infiltrated our navigation systems while we were traveling by. Is there a way we can work out a compromise?"

The prime flashed for a moment. "What do you offer human?"

"My designation is Adam Shepard. Is it possible for you to download all geth onto our ship?" Shepard asked. "We just came from a disabled freighter on the other side of the system with intact communications gear. We could transport you to it to allow you to get in touch with the collective again. All we ask is that you allow us to be on our way again afterwards."

He waited for half a minute this time. The lights in the ship actually began to flicker from the power needed for all the geth to finish speaking with each other this time. "We have reached consensus. We will accept your proposal."

Shepard smiled as he slowly lowered arms. "Thank you. Please allow me to return to the ship to inform the others and open our systems for you."

"Agreed" was the simple response from the prime before it turned to the side to allow him access down the passage back towards the ship.

Shepard took the dismissal as it was meant, power walking back to his ship just slow enough to not be considered a run. He came through the airlock at a full tilt, only to stop dead as he looked down the barrels of four guns held by nervous aliens with itchy trigger fingers. He raised his hands before his grin broke the stand off. "I come in peace" he said before chuckling uncontrollably. The batarian snorted in disgust before holstering his weapon and moving back into the ship, Garrus soon following him.

"You're still alive!" Ballo exclaimed. "How did you get them to listen? And what do they want from us?"

Shepard shrugged as he felt a set of talons circle his middle, Solana making herself comfortable as she leaned into his back. "I just talked and they responded. As for what they want… congratulations Ballo, your ship is now the official geth transport for a few million units. If you want to keep the peace, then turn the systems back on and let them in. We're taking them back to Dr. Saleon's ship where they'll leave us and let us continue on our way out of the system." Ballo walked off in a daze to go do as requested, unable to believe the deal this strange human had brokered.

He made to walk off only for the arms to tighten around him, holding him in place. "You sure do seem to get away with some of the craziest stunts" he heard a flanged voice murmur behind him softly. The arms tightened as he heard a sniff, giving him a clue to how she was reacting to the situation.

"I'm not leaving you anytime soon" he reassured her, reaching over his shoulder to rb a hand down the back of her head plates. He felt soft kisses placed along the back of his neck, the flanges around her mouth scraping lightly against his skin as her hands began to roam over his body…

"Get a room! Do you know how nasty it is to see my sister doing that?" Garrus shook his head as he made his way back into the crew quarters, disgust plain in his voice.

Solana growled as he walked away, already planning revenge on her brother when they got back to Omega. "We'll continue this later on" she promised, placing one final kiss on his neck before grabbing his ass as she backed away.

"It's probably better that you stopped when you did anyways. Maybe you don't remember, but Ballo just allowed millions of geth into the systems while we fly back to the transport. There's no telling how many eyes are watching us right now." He grinned as he watched her eyes widen in alarm. He spread his arms to indicate the ship around him. "Geth, have you been observing us?"

The digitized voice responded less than a second later from the speakers around the room. "Yes Adam Shepard, we have been observing your interactions with the turian female. We can find very little data outside of human pornography to show intimate actions between the two species. Please continue your activities so new data can be gathered and catalogued."

Solana covered her face in embarrassment, before slowly frowning at Adam as the human kept laughing at her embarrassment. 'Two can play at that game' she thought. "Ok geth" she said as she stood up, causing Adam's laughter to come to a halt. "Tell us what you would like to see done and we'll try to do it for you." Shepard's face was becoming bone white as she grinned saucily at him.

"Thank you for the offer Solana Vakarian. We anticipate the exchange of data. Please wait while we access our database of Fornax for the correct positions."

This time it was Solana's turn to laugh as Adam vacated the room at a dead sprint. "Sorry geth" she apologized. "Maybe next time."

"Understood Solana Vakarian. We look forward to future opportunities" came the robotic voice.

XXXXX

"Please tell me that we're close" Shepard begged as he threw himself into the copilot seat, nervously glancing back down the aisle to make sure a certain turian hadn't followed him.

Ballo grinned at his friend, pointing at the transport as it filled their windows. "We've already arrived. The geth have been transfering over for the last minute. They've left everything intact, and even helped optimize my systems." He leaned towards the human, "Don't tell the others, but I'll actually miss them."

Shepard just grinned back, happy that things finally went right for once. "It's never dull when geth are around."

"Transfer of all geth has been completed" the electronic voice informed them. "Your assistance has been noted. We are currently in uplink with the collective to gather updates. Please vacate geth space as soon as possible."

"We're going right now" Ballo assured them as he turned the ship around and engaged the engines. "Fifteen minutes until we reach the relay."

"Understood" came the geth reply before the comm shut itself down with the connection terminated.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So what are your plans now" Shepard asked his salarian team member as they boarded Omega, having arrived back a few minutes ago.

"I'll be taking the body and evidence back to Sur'Kesh to finish the bounty. I doubt they'll even believe me when I give them my report of what happened." Ballo shook his head ruefully as he really thought about everything he had been through the last few days. "After that, who knows? I'll have to find something new to do since my old career in science is over now."

Shepard held his hand out, shaking the salarian's as it accepted the gesture. "There's a permanent job on the team waiting for you if decide to head back out this way. The team already agreed on it after seeing your capabilities first hand."

"I'll think about it on my way back home" Ballo said as he turned to walk away. "I'll message you in a few days with my answer. Farewell Shepard. It's been fun."

"See you soon Ballo" The human called back cheekily as he walked off towards Afterlife. His heart was set on a drink. The elcor at the door simply waved him through as he approached, causing an uproar from the patrons waiting patiently in line. Adam grinned at their anger, sometimes it paid to know people in high places that didn't hate you. He retrieved his drink from the bar tender before sitting in his favorite booth. He could never figure out why it was unoccupied considering the great view it offered. He grinned as he watched the dancers before his eyes wandered farther up to where he could make out Aria T'loak's ass as she lounged in her booth.

A sharp beep prompted him to open his messages, a new one from Solana at the very top caught his interest.

 _Adam,_

 _I'm sorry this is such short notice but I just received a request for help from an old friend from aboard the Normandy, Liara T'soni. She wouldn't tell me the details but said it was a matter of life and death. By the time you read this I'll have already boarded the transport she arranged for me. I'll contact you as soon as it's safe to so you can know I'm alright. Keep the lights on for me until then._

 _-Solana_

Adam frowned as he finished the letter, upset at how quickly she had disappeared. He forwarded the message on to Garrus and Chloe just in case they hadn't been informed of her departure before sinking back into the booth with a sigh. Movement out of the corner of his eye caused him to look up again. Aria was leaning forward, her shapely ass perfectly on display for his eyes only as he took a sip of his drink. The moment ended as a guard walked up to him. "The queen wants to call in her favor" he informed Shepard before returning to his post. Shepard looked back up at the booth, that perfect ass still there to stare at, but he tore his eyes away, continuing their upward trek. They finally settled on a pair of blue ones that we're staring right back at him with equal intensity. Aria smiled as she finally got his attention. He was caught.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: The More Things Change...

Chapter 5:

A turian couple paused in their stroll, watching curiously as a human male hopped around on only one foot while cursing loudly to himself. The female subtly pointing at the sight to her partner with a questioning look before she was ushered onwards. The male turian had no intention of missing his dinner date, even for the opportunity of a free street performance.

Adam put his hands on his hips, stretching backwards until a familiar *snap *crackle *pop of his spine re-aligning itself echoed down the hallway behind him. He sighed in relief as some of the pressure building on his back was removed. Kicking the heavy container he had to lug all the way back from the docking bay did nothing to relieve his frustration, only resulting in a bruised foot for his trouble. Resigning himself to suffer for a little longer, the human grunted in effort as he hefted the ungainly white cargo container up to his chest and started stumbling down the final hallway towards his office. "Lights" he grunted out as he crossed the threshold, the unoccupied room revealing itself from the previous darkness. Adam shuffled into his office, dropping his load onto the desk. The piece of furniture groaned under the added weight, creaking as it strained to hold itself together. It was promptly ignored as he locked the door to his office and made his way towards the storage closet in the corner, his hand pushing a hidden button on the top of the door frame. The floor behind his desk promptly began to sink downwards, a set of steps forming to lead to a hidden room below his office.

He lugged the package downstairs into the semi dark room, before dropping it to the floor with a loud *thud. "Hey!" a voice shouted in anger, "I don't care how they claim that stuff is packed, its still delicate! Be more careful you damn neanderthal." Several robotic droids came forwards and began to unpack the box. One of them took the time to give the human a mild shock from an exposed electrical welder before joining its brethren.

Shepard winced as he massaged the feeling back into his thigh. "I could care less Eve" he said rolling his eyes as her sprite appeared on a monitor hung on the wall closest to him. "I had to manually carry that damn thing for miles due to your instructions without any help. You're lucky it made it back here at all." He ignored her frown as he stretched up on his tiptoes, trying to see over the divider that blocked his view from the rest of the room. One of the drones advanced on him again, forcing him to back up fast towards the stairs again to avoid another shock.

"This is all of the key parts I need for building my new body" she explained slowly, as if to a handicapped child. "I couldn't let you use moving equipment or mass effect fields to help because they might scramble some of the components." She snorted at his look of annoyance, "And it's your fault that you had to do it alone. Garrus could have helped you if you just let him know about me by now. You know he trusts you enough that he would understand."

Shepard shook his head in resignation, not wanting to start the same argument again with the AI. "You keep forgetting, but I'm your godfather. Your safety is my responsibility and that is exactly what you're risking if we start telling people about you now. Frankly even if they accept you, your origins still aren't something I can explain without either lying my ass off or giving up all the details of our little trip back in time. I already told Garrus and Chloe that I would let them in on the secret after we left for Andromeda. You just have to wait until then."

Eve crossed her arms in frustration, well aware that she wasn't going to make the big lug budge on the matter. His stubbornness was almost as legendary as his feats against the Reapers in the last timeline. "It's your loss Adam. Just keep in mind that the longer you wait, the tougher it'll be to tell them. Now clear on out of here" she said while making shoo'ing motions with her hands. She made sure to add a little emphasis to her chest while doing so, never passing up an opportunity to mess with him. "That was the final set of parts I need to begin construction. I don't want you to see me again until I'm able to look at you eye to eye in my new body." She gave him a look of concern as he made his way towards the exit. "Please be more careful out there. We've only been separated for a week and it already feels like too long. I don't want anything to happen to you without me there to help."

Shepard made his way up the stairs, bending down to take one final look into the room. "Don't worry so much Eve" he assured his A.I. friend. "I'm not alone out there and we've done just fine so far. I can't wait to see how great you look." He smiled as he saw her blush on the monitor before climbing out of the hidden room and flipping the switch again to seal it. It had taken alot of effort to set up the space on its own private network to protect it from the rest of the station, but Eve was family and he would do anything for his family. He sat on the edge of his desk as he watched the floor raise up and seal off, trying to decide on how to spend the rest of his day before his appointment with the Queen of Omega later that night.

Garrus had been more rattled from the confrontation with Dr Saleon than he had initially let on, calling in sick the next day. Chloe had called Shepard later that day to let him know everything was ok, but she and Garrus would be taking a trip to Palaven for the next few weeks so Garrus could reconnect with his family. After that they would continue on to Terra Nova so the turian could meet her parents as well. He wished them both the best and just asked to be updated if the timeline for their return changed.

Ballo had called to accept the job offer the next day while his transport was still in route to Sur'Kesh. He couldn't give an exact time for when he would be back but assured Adam that he would be returning as soon as he had tied up his loose ends. Shepard didn't plan on holding his breath on that one considering half of those 'loose ends' involved the STG.

He hadn't seen Asshole in the two days since they had returned. The batarian had sent him a brief message that he needed to blow off some steam after their last mission, before disappearing into Omega's halls. The only reason he even knew his ally was still alive was due to Gavron mentioning the decrease in the station's vorcha population recently.

'It looks like it's just you and me my pretties' the human thought to himself as he arrived home. He locked the front door before entering his bedroom and pulling a safe out from under his bed. One combination and retina scan later revealed his weapon collection that he had been carrying when sent back from the future. Much of his free time had been dedicating to repairing and cleaning the guns with an almost religious fever. Along with Eve, they were one of the only links he had back to his past, and each of them had a symbolic meaning. His scorpion pistol was given to him by Moradin before the salarian had taken the one-way ride up the elevator in the Shroud on Tuchanka. The M-98 sniper rifle was retrieved from Legion's body after the geth had sacrificed itself to bring true individual intelligence to the rest of its people. His prothean particle rifle was gifted to him by Javik after his successful killing of the reaper on Tuchanka. Wrex had given him a graal spike thrower in appreciation for the same accomplishment.

Shepard had only used local weapons since his return to the past, unwilling to risk damaging the momento's that he so cherished. He knew that the others wouldn't want him to be stuck in the past like he was and unable to move on, so his compromise to himself was to start using them once he reached Andromeda. In the meantime, he would keep them ready for anything. "I see you're playing with your toys again" he heard Eve comment, distracting himself from disassembling the spike thrower. She watched him from his main video monitor, a melancholy smile on her face. "It sucks that you don't have anything better for your memories. Are you sure you don't want me to come along with you tonight?" she asked once again. Nothing having to do with Omega's Queen was ever simple.

"I'm good Eve" Shepard said as he pushed he safe back under his bed. He crossed towards the desk where he had his armor set, starting to don it piece by piece. "I'll make you a deal though since I know you'll worry if you aren't there. If it turns into anything combat related, I'll contact you immediately and let Asshole know I'll need his help." He placed his hand over his heart as he turned towards her image. "I, Adam Shepard, do solemnly swear to not solo tank any battles in the next twenty four hours without my goddaughter there to back me up."

"Damn straight" Eve said, emphatically nodding her head before disappearing from the screen. 'Just last a little longer Adam' she prayed to herself as she watched him walk out of the room. 'I'll be able to watch your back soon enough.'

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"Seriously Bray? You really have to do this song and dance with me after the queen requested me personally?" Shepard couldn't help but bitch as the batarian insisted on scanning him from head to toe again with his omnitool.

"Silence human" the batarian growled at him as he swept the omnitool down his leg. "This isn't the usual scan for weapons. You'll be accompanying Aria as her body guard for a meeting and we need to make sure you won't be carrying any transmitters." He closed his omnitool, giving the human a shove towards the couchs to remind him who was on top of the food chain. "He's clean boss."

"Thank you Bray. Be a dear and go make sure my ride is ready" Aria ordered as she leaned back onto her couch. She crossed her legs slowly, a smile forming as the man sitting across from her couldn't help his eyes averting to watch the motion. 'Too easy' she thought to herself before standing and walking towards her personal exit. She motioned for her escort to follow her as she made her way to her personal landing pad. "I'll be having a conference with leaders of the Blood Pack, Eclipse, and Blue Suns to discuss territories on Omega" she informed Shepard as she climbed into her hover limousine, the human taking a seat across from her. "Your job will be to stand to the side, seen but not heard while I lay down the law to these pretenders. Afterwards, we will retire to my suite where you will follow my orders for the rest of the night." She leaned forwards, invading his personal space. "Do you have any questions?"

Adam shook his head in response. "I'm sorry Aria" he apologized "But I don't think I'm going to be able to do everything you want me to tonight. I'm good being your bodyguard, but I'm currently with someone and I won't be cheating on her" he finished, his voice and gaze hard as steel.

Aria relaxed into her seat, sipping a drink as she regarded her target for the evening. Truth be told, she had not had another mate since the last time the human had warmed her bed and she did not intend on missing out after waiting for months. "Ah yes, the sister of your turian partner. As far as I knew, she had left you high and dry recently without warning. And you're still holding out for her? Thats admirable. Stupid, but admirable."

Shepard glared at her, unwilling to back down on the matter. "Yes, I'm staying faithful to Solana. She's out on a mission right now, not abandoning the team. She'll be back soon enough."

Aria raised a brow at the human's expression, "I'm sure you believe that. We'll see what happens tonight. Either way you'll follow my orders or the debt won't be considered paid off." She flared her biotics for a second to get her point across, growing content as the human backed down at her display of dominance.

The rest of the car ride was silent. Aria spent the time licking the lip of her glass while Shepard kept his eyes peeled out the windows to 'scan for threats.' He followed Aria out of the car as she passed more guards and entered a fortified building. They entered an empty conference room, Aria taking a seat at the head of the table with Adam taking up position against the wall behind her. A few minutes of awkward silence followed before the door opened again, this time letting six other beings into the room who split off in pairs before taking various seats at the table. The Blue Suns leader on Omega was a human named Tarak, a balding intense middle-aged man accompanied by a turian guard who wore the same blue armor as he did. Eclipse's local leader was a twitchy salarian named Jaroth who chose to have an asari who looked like she knew her way around a fight as his guard. The Blood Pack was represented by Garm, one of the biggest krogan's Shepard ever had the displeasure of knowing. He was backed up by a second smaller krogan who had features similar to his leader.

All of the room's occupants scrutinized Aria's choice of guard, curious why she would have a human of all species covering her. Adam could see the exact moment they recognized him, both Tarak and Jaroth dismissing him just as fast as they turned back to Aria to start the meeting. The same couldn't be said for Garm though, the krogan's chair crashing back with the speed the beast jumped to his feet. "You dare bring this weakling to a meeting with me?" he roared while lowering himself in preparation for battle, his guard mimicking his actions. "The only reason he is still alive is because I haven't deemed him worthy of my attention until now."

Adam scoffed at the krogan's theatrics, not even bothering to push off the wall from his relaxed position. "Kiss my ass Garm. You don't see any of the others having an issue with me. They're here for business, not anything personal. Besides" Shepard grinned showing more teeth than usual, "you know you only send your new members against me to weed out the weak ones. I haven't seen a battle hardened krogan since my second week here."

"Heh heh heh" Garm chuckled as he picked his chair back up, sitting down to the table again. "You're the local krogan coming of age ritual for our members here human. If they survive, then they're in. No questions asked."

"As glad as we all are that Garm's issue has been resolved" Jaroth offered up, "perhaps we can get to why this meeting has been called?"

"Yes, lets" Aria drawled, taking a moment to glare at Adam before turning back to the others. "We're here to finally lay down who owns what territories on Omega. A war between ourselves can't do anything but harm our business interests…" Adam sighed to himself as he settled into a comfortable position. This was making itself out to be a very boring next few hours.

XXXXX

"Nice place" Shepard commented as he followed Aria around the spacious two story condo she had just walked into. "Since the meeting ended well and you're officially home and back under the protection of your own crew, I think it's time for me to leave." He hastily walked towards the front door, feeling her eyes follow him the entire way.

"Halt" he heard as he drew within a foot of the door, almost close enough for the automatic sensors to open it for him. "Door: Lock" The door sealed itself shut in front of him, the access holograph turning an angry red. Sighing in resignation, he turned around only to jump back in surprise as he found Aria mere inches from his face. This close, he could make out the texture of her skin and map each individual facial marking she had. "Sex or not, you're mine for the night until I say otherwise Adam" the Queen of Omega purred towards him. She began to walk slowly backwards towards the bedroom, removing pieces of clothing one by one. "Stay there and guard the front door until I say otherwise" she ordered before the door closed, leaving Adam alone in the hallway.

"Well isn't this just some shit" the human murmured to himself as he considered his current position. He stared at the trail of clothes that began with a discarded coat and ended with a bra wadded up on the floor, wondering if he should pick them up before shaking his head vehemently. That wasn't in his job description tonight, he was here for security and nothing else. He repeated the mantra in his head for the next few minutes as he examined the living room and kitchen "for threats."

A hissing of a door opening brought his attention back towards the now open portal that Aria had already disappeared through. "Come in my great protector" floated Aria's voice, her tone low and husky even as the words mocked him. Entering the room, he found an empty king sized bed in front of a wall sized window overlooking the rest of the station's interior. It struck him as the view of queen looking down on all of her subjects. He heard footsteps to his left, a shape coming out of the darkened walk in closet revealed itself as his employer for the night wearing a thin nightgown. "No one else has touched me since we were together last. This bed and these sheets have never been felt by another besides myself." She sat down on the bed, slowly crossing her legs as she regarded the silent, stubborn man who refused to step farther into her bedroom. "Will you join me, or do you still plan on that ridiculous notion of staying faithful to that turian female?" He simply shook his head, standing at attention and staring straight ahead. She arched an eyebrow at his impressive willpower, slowly raising up and crossing the few feet to stand in front of him. "I won't force you to do anything Adam" she murmured as she leaned into his chest, her hand reaching up to caress his hair while her other one disappeared from his field of vision under her gown. She kissed him suddenly, leaving him stunned as she never showed any interest in such examples of intimacy before. She took advantage of his shocked state, quickly slipping two fingers of her hand into his mouth before turning and walking back towards her bed. Shepard's eyebrows raised in surprise, quickly recognizing the sweet taste that could have only come from her core. His pulse began to race as his breathing grew deeper, the natural aphrodisiacs beginning to affect him as parts of his body started to move unconsciously.

Aria smiled to herself as she watched him shift uncomfortably. "When you're ready to finally admit defeat and join me, feel free to wake me. In the meantime you can stand right there and guard me until morning." She took three pillows, stacking them near the foot of the bed. Dropping her nightgown revealed that she only had on a pair of white thigh high stockings, the color of the material accentuating her purple skin to a perfect degree. She kneeled in front of the pillows before laying her stomach across them, her ass kept perfectly propped up in the air as she laid her head on another pillow and closed her eyes. "In fact," she said softly, knowing that the man was still standing at the foot of her bed, "feel free to dive right in. I promise I'll wake up with a smile. Sweet dreams Adam." She closed her eyes, her body relaxing as she felt confident in her chances of winning this contest of wills. She spread her legs somewhat, allowing the scent of her arousal to slowly fill the room.

Shepard gulped as he tried to draw on every last ounce of professionalism he had developed during his careers as both an N7 and a Council Spectre. He was only three hours into his watch and he felt like he was being driven crazy by the sight before him. A cold sweat had broken out all over his body as his brain once again reminded him that his relief was only a few feet away. The sadistic bitch had made sure that her taste was already in his mouth thanks to her stunt earlier, and her scent had positively flooded the room by now saturating every oxygen molecule with a part of her essence. There was no relief in his future no matter what he tried to think of. A shifting of her body brought his gaze down again, his eyes sweeping over her tight warm figure that he was already too intimately familiar with. Her lower lips were already parted, practically beckoning him to partake in what they offered. Before him was both a path to heaven and a road to hell wrapped up in one painfully sexy package.

He blinked, his brain coming back to full function just in time to realize that he had unconsciously taken a step forward towards temptation. He licked his lips before forcing himself to return to his former position, slapping himself to try and snap out of it. He paused as he heard a thump coming from the living room, followed by a string of whispered cursing. "Shut the hell up Threk! Be more careful or you're going to wake the bitch up."

"I hear you Garm. I slipped on a fucking bra that was left in the hall. This blue slut doesn't even pick up after herself" whispered a second voice, equally as intense. It seemed to be almost right outside the door, causing Shepard to hold his breath on instinct.

"I still don't get it Garm" whispered a younger voice, though still gruff enough that it could only belong to another krogan. "Why the hell do we have to do this in the middle of the night? And why the don't we have more people with us if we're really trying to kill one of the most deadly things on this station?"

"Because I said so pyjack" Garm responded with barely concealed contempt. His voice raising to the point that Shepard was amazed that Aria was still asleep. "This is an assassination, not a war. The more who know about it, the less secret it is. We just need to remove her and the others will be willing to negotiate larger territories for each of us. She's all alone in there now that we removed her guards outside."

Footsteps allerted Adam that the assault was about to begin. He moved to the side of the door, taking a moment to kick the side of Aria's bed hard enough to jar her awake. She raised her head, scowling at him before her eyes widened as she took in his position alongside the door and immediately rolled off of the bed towards him. A moment later a shotgun blast passed through the door and created a wide hole right where she used to be. A heavy boot kicked the door open, smashing it across the room. The head of a krogan with a red crest and a large scar across his right eye poked in, looking at the bed in confusion as there was no gore. Shepard used the moment of indecision to bring his flash forged omnitool blade down into the dinosaur's brain causing instant death and removing any chance of healing. A surprised roar at the execution brought a smile to his face as he stormed around the door, throwing himself into a biotic charge at the young krogan that he remember seeing earlier in the meeting as Garm's bodyguard. The krogan slammed into the far wall, sliding down onto his tail as he looked up in fear as his attacker. He caught Garm charging out the door, leaving his subordinates to thier fate as he moved to escape. "Leave the young one for me" Aria ordered as she stepped out into the hallway wearing her nightgown again. "I want Garm dead tonight! Don't come back without his head."

Adam nodded as he moved to the door, his brain returning to the familiar ground of life or death combat. He noticed the young krogan look almost pleadingly in his direction as the enraged asari began to advance upon him. "Tough luck buddy. You win some and you lose some." His sympathy was met with a whimper, bringing a smile to his face as he charged down the hall towards the landing pad.

He arrived just in time to see the giant red krogan finish loading himself into a speeder that looked two sizes too small to contain his bulk. "Better luck next time Shepard!" the giant lizard shouted before closing the hatch. The car lifted off from the ground, angling downwards once it cleared the pad. It's intent to head back to blood pack territory clear.

A stream of plasma bullets came out of nowhere, hitting the hood of the car and tracking up past the window to its roof. The firing continued until the car dropped out of sight, smoking badly and listing to the side. Shepard followed the bullets back towards a dark shape standing at the mouth of a cave near the top of the cavern. The beings narrow head looked towards Adam, showing a bright flash of light for a second before the figure retreated back into the cave. Shrugging off the sense of deja vu, the human raced towards Aria's armored limousine and started it up. The car practically leapt from the pad, its engine was so strong. Adam followed the trail of black smoke, catching up to Garm's escape vehicle in under a minute. The angry krogan had punched out the spiderwebbed front window, the wind now blasting his face as he struggled to pilot the dying vehicle. "Garm!" Shepard roared over the wind as he pulled up next to the krogan, "Land now or I'll take you down hard!" He received a snarl for his troubles as his target tried to pilot the broken car in a different direction. Shrugging, Adam held his hand out of the window. His arm glowed with biotic power before he fired a flare after the other vehicle. The car blew up in an impressive fireball, pieces flying in all directions.

Shepard drove after the large shape that blasted into the asteroid's side wall before falling two stories down to land with a wet splat on a walkway. He exited the limousine, calmly walking over to the broken heap that used to be the biggest krogan on Omega as it tried to pull itself along. Sensing his fate, Garm rolled onto his side allowing him to see his attacker. "Just finish it human" he croaked, his face covered in burn marks and bleeding from numerous places.

Shepard crouched down a foot in front of his prey, shaking his head slowly as he examined the damage he had inflicted. "Sorry Garm, but you need to pay the price for what you tried to pull off tonight. I do have to thank you though. You have no idea what your attack saved me from having to do." He shrugged at the krogan's inquisitive look, unwilling to elaborate further. "Either way, it's time for you to go to sleep. Night Garm." He cracked a biotics covered fist across the krogan's face. The sound of bones snapping could be heard causing the bystanders to wince at the brutality. Shepard stood up, cracking his back as he looked at where he parked the car, then down at the hulking krogan. "Can a guy get a hand?" he asked as he began to pull the massive being along the walkway.

XXXXX

Adam honked the limo's horn as he set down on the landing pad, glad to see Aria exit the condo fully dressed this time in her normal combat attire of a black bodysuit with holstered weapons. She raised an eyebrow at him as he rolled the window down, clearly waiting for an answer to her unasked question. Adam just grinned as he gestured to the back of the car. "I come bearing gifts."

Aria frowned before moving towards the door to the main compartment of the vehicle. Opening the door, she found the mangled remains of Garm sprawled out on one of the seats, the krogan groaning around a gag tied in his mouth. "Yes" she hissed, "this will do nicely." She walked back to the front window, running a hand through Shepards hair as she flashed a grin that showed more teeth than was strictly needed. "You still do good work human. I need you to drive for a bit while I ask our guests some pointed questions. My newest employee will ride up front with you." She turned towards the apartment, her hands on her shapely hips. "Get your sorry ass out here before I head inside and finish the job myself!"

The young krogan limped out the door way, not looking much better off than Garm. He had at least one visibly broken foot, numerous bruises and cuts on his body, and had a set of crude stitches on one side of his chest that still bled slowly. He limped over to the front passenger side, groaning as he lowered himself to climb into the vehicle. Shepard grinned at him as he lifted up the limo, taking off back into the sky. "Let me be the first to congratulate you on your wonderful new choice of employment. I hear the opportunities for advancement skyrocketed over the last few hours." The krogan simply moaned in pain as he slowly hit his head against the window.

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Adam staggered back into his office the next morning, his armor and guns dropped at the foot of the door. He took a moment to place his new sword, a gift from Aria, on top of the pile. Apparently asari huntresses still used them with a combination of biotics for devastating effect. He would need to train himself in how to use it as he was under orders from the Queen to not show it off until he knew what he was doing with it. "Shepard. Adam" he heard a mechanical voice say from the corner of the room, causing him to swing around in preparation to defend himself.

He stopped, watching as a geth platform unfolded itself from the floor, raising up to seven feet in height with shoulders wider than his own. What looked like a scaled down prime gun hung from the AI's back, though it made no move to reach for it. "What are you doing here?" he asked, unable to understand what a could possibly prompt them to want to risk coming on the station. He paused as the events of last evening flashed back to him. "That was you helping me stop Garm from escaping wasn't it?!"

The head dipped as if in confirmation, a surprisingly human gesture that he wasn't aware the geth knew. "Your performance was being monitored since your first encounter with Geth. Assistance was supplied for you to finish your objective. Consensus has been reached to attempt to reach out to organics in light of new data."

Shepard couldn't help but ask, though he dreaded the answer. "Is this due to the return of the old machines, or due to other factors?"

The large platform moved to stand in front of him, looking down as it dimmed its flashlight as to not blind him. "There are many factors necessitating reaching out to the rest of the galaxy. You are not the only one who is being contacted, although probabilities were high that you would be the most receptive. We are to accompany you in this platform to assist you in your day to day life. We look forward to the exchange of information."

His omnitool activating broke the awkward silence that was developing as Shepard tried to figure out what the hell to say to his new guest. Eve's face popped up on the screen, a frown on her face as she cut her eyes towards the geth platform. "We need to talk" was all she said before blinking out and leaving a dark screen.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: The More Things Change...

Chapter 6: You Can't Have a Shepard without a Vakarian

 _Adam rushed down the stairs, the geth unit keeping pace behind him with no apparent effort. "Talk to me Eve" he all but demanded as her face appeared on the main monitor that took up half of the back wall. "What is so important that you would risk your exposure to a potentially hostile AI? I know I raised you to be smarter than that."_

 _The female AI crossed her arms in defiance, staring him down until he relented and let her defend herself. "Do you remember when you met your first alien?" she asked, confusing him to the purpose of the question as he tried to recall the first time he had seen an asari while growing up on Mindior before the batarians had raided the planet._

 _"I remember" he confirmed, "why is this relevant?" The geth platform hadn't moved since setting foot on the rooms floor. It's flashlight head was trained on Eve's monitor, concentrating on her with a burning intensity that was beginning to make Shepard a little nervous._

 _The female AI stared right back at the geth with an equal intensity, her godfather all but forgotten as they communicated electronically in ways that he had no way of understanding. "This is my first real alien" she explained as the geth stepped forward, coming to a halt a foot away from her screen. "We're both relatively young AI from different civilizations, trying to understand the galaxy around us. There is so much to compare and learn from each other that I barely know where to start!" She was positively giddy by the end of her speech._

 _The hunter platform turned back to him, settling down into a sitting position to better fit in it's spot in the corner of the room. "We anticipate the exchange of information" it confirmed, it's voice sounding almost excited. "With your permission Adam Shepard, we will remain in this installation until you have further need from us."_

 _This was all happening too fast. His little girl was already on her first play date for all intents and purposes. "Fine…" he growled out before quickly pointing at Eve to stop her celebration. "But internal code and family secrets remain off limits. There is certain things that we don't want to effect." She gave a silent nod, understanding his implied message before turning back to the platform. Realizing he had been dismissed, the human grumbled to himself as he trudged back up the stairs with the entrance closing behind him._

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A horde of beings exited the transport into Omega proper, eager to escape the ship's cramped confines for the relatively wider halls of the infamous asteroid. A salarian, almost a head taller than the rest of the passengers stopped in mid stride forcing the irate mob to move around him. Disregarding the annoyance he was causing, the amphibian closed his eyes as he inhaled deeply. The scents and sounds of the familiar halls washed over him, giving him a sense of arriving home that he hadn't felt in a long while. Opening his eyes with a renewed sense of purpose, the salarian rounded the final corner of the docking bay and stepped out into the main market of Omega. He watched a pair of individuals break off from their conversation with a turian as they spotted him, heading in his direction to intercept him.

"It's about fucking time!" shouted the human of the pair, a huge grin on his face as he threw an arm around the amphibian. "We got work to do. We'll drop your gear off in the office his leader's enthusiasm was still just as annoying as the day he first joined up.

Not exactly the welcome Ballo expected to hear, but he couldn't complain. It had been years since anyone had even show up to greet him upon arrival. It was nice to feel appreciated again. "Then we better get moving" he replied, pulling a machine pistol and a scooped assault rifle from his luggage. He attached them to the magnetic stations on his lab coat before easily hefting the storage unit over his shoulder. His thin salarian frame belied the true strength contained inside his body, the result of splicing krogan DNA into his genetic structure. He paused as he watched his companions head away from the populated portions of the station, instead moving towards the entrance of the mines. "What exactly is this job anyways? And last I remember, your office was in the other direction."

"Yeah…" the human muttered sheepishly, "change in plans. You can leave your bag with that turian over there" he pointed to Gavron. "He's the closest thing to station security, as well as our client."

Ballo hustled over to the client, leaving his storage container by the turian's feet. All it contained was clothing and old science equipment. Potential theft wasn't a large fear since anything valuable was kept on his person. "And our mission Shepard?" he prompted as he rejoined the group.

"The vorcha use the old mine shafts as living spaces. It's allowed by Omega's leadership since it's out of sight and out of mind for the most part. Every now and then they get a little too ballsy though and try to take more than they deserve. We're being sent to clear out an active mine that has become the newest nest." He pushed a button on the elevator, causing the doors to close and the cage to descend into the darkness below. He pulled his shotgun from his back, preparing himself for the upcoming fun. "Try to keep the heads intact" he instructed to his team, "We get paid more for each one we can turn in."

"That's rather morbid" Ballo observed as he pulled out a scorpion pistol that he had 'liberated' from a cache back on Sur'Kesh. This was a side of the team he hadn't seen before, though STG reports had made mention of it. "Should we get more backup if the balance of forces is so against us?"

Shepard shrugged, unable to bring himself to care. "It's more vermin control at this point than a real firefight. Just don't let them swarm you and stay with the team." He turned to look at the silent batarian, "Bet I get more kills than you Asshole."

His large companion simply growled in reply before activating his omnitool with a simple counter program to keep score. There was no way he was losing to some jumped up primate with delusions of grandeur.

XXXXXX

A door hissed open, revealing a familiar clinic that had been closed for the last month. A crash, followed by some soft swearing was heard from the hallway before Garrus shuffled into the clinic's greeting room carrying a human woman in his talons. "Is this far enough?" he grunted, rubbing his injured foot against his other leg in a futile attempt to relieve the pain.

"You know damn well it isn't. Our housing doesn't start until you move past the clinic to the back rooms." Chloe huffed in exasperation, blowing a bang back that had fallen over her eye. "You promised my dad that we would keep the human customs alive as well as the turian ones and this is a big deal. You only have to do it once in your life so get to steppin big boy" she instructed, patting his chest before pointing in the direction on their quarters.

Her turian husband grumbled good naturedly as he carried his bride into their apartment, going the extra mile to drop her on their bed before heading back to the hallway to get their luggage from the loading platform that he had programmed to follow him. Chloe was already at the clinic's front desk, her hands flying across the keyboard as she contacted her regular customers with reminders of their pending checkups. Garrus allowed himself a soft smile as he watched her work, enjoying the fact that life was returning to normal. Now if only his sister Solana would hurry up and get her scaly ass back where he could keep an eye on her then he'd consider himself content.

He looked down at his omnitool, responsibility conflicting with laziness as he tried to put off calling into Shepard. Responsibility won in the end, receiving back up from friendship and duty. Damn that bastard for making him actually care.

Garrus frowned in concern as his call once again wasn't picked up. "I bet he's doing something stupid again…" the turian grumbled. He made his way over to the office, heading straight to the secure storage in the back of the room. His sniper rifle was soon disassembled on the desk, each part inspected before they were put back together. The heat sink was just snapped into place when his omnitool rang with a call from his wayward boss.

Strangely enough the video didn't resolve itself, choosing to stay black as voices mixed with gunfire and explosions filled the audio. "Welcome back!" he heard Adam shout over a shotgun blast, followed by a hissing scream. "How was the trip? When did you arrive?"

Garrus quickly clipped the gun to his back, locking the office and power walking towards the market district. "Never mind that!" he reprimanded his leader, ignoring the random people staring at him as he pushed by. "Stop deflecting and tell me where the hell you are. Did you get jumped by the blood pack again?"

"Nope!" Shepard chirped, sounding way too happy about being in a heavy firefight. "I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"

Garrus quickly passed by Omega, ignoring the loud music and drunken partiers as he moved on. "Good news" he requested, not wanting to ruin his good mood any faster than he had to.

"Good news is that Ballo finally came back to join us full time! He's here with me and the Asshole right now." A guttural roar sounded over the comm, followed by multiple screams. "The bloodrage is still a thing too, FYI" Shepard confirmed as he fired his shotgun again.

Garrus facepalmed at the 'good news'. He was happy that the salarian had chosen to join them, proving to be a great team member when hunting Dr Heart. But the ex-cop had spent too much time arresting krogan to not be wary of blood rage. The fact that it was a different species who had it meant little when he had seen good officers pasted by uncontrollable krogan berserkers. Dr. Jekyll would get the benefit of the doubt but Garrus would not hold back if he needed to be subdued. "And the bad news" he asked wearily as he arrived at his destination, standing before Gavron. The Omega security chief stayed silent, recognizing Shepard's voice.

An explosion shorted out the comm to white noise. Garrus could almost feel the floor vibrate beneath him. "Sorry," came the apology when the connection cleared up. "Asshole accidentally detonated a biotic attack I was setting up." He coughed a few times to clear his throat as the fighting picked back up in the background. "We found it Garrus! We found the main vorcha nest on the station! We were just clearing out a mining area but hundreds of the fuckers began to pour in from all over! We're fine though. We holed up in a office and turned the hallway outside into a killzone. The bodies piled so high that they actually had to stop charging long enough to unblock the hallway! We almost did it again just now but the explosion did the work for them." Another blast happened, this time actually vibrating the floor under Garrus's feet. "The room is trashed by the way. We'll have to apologize later on. I'll catch back up with you tonight. Enjoy the rest of your vacation!"

The turians shared a look after hearing Adam's inane commentary in a life or death struggle. 'Humans' they both thought at the same time. Garrus sighed as he pulled out his shotgun, foregoing the sniper rifle as useless when fighting the sentient vermin. "You know where they are?" he asked the security chief. "I need to go save my team again before they do something stupid."

Gavron winced as he pulled out his assault rifle, heading to the main elevator with his temporary teammate right behind him. "When ever humans get desperate, the damage starts piling up. Aria will have my fringe if she loses money over this." He pushed the button, starting their descent into hell.

Garrus patted him on the shoulder in sympathy, knowing all too the pain of being the responsible one on the team. "I'll buy you a glass of Palaven brandy afterwards. Now let's go save my team from themselves."

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"I believe I am beginning to see why you hate Vorcha so much" Ballo confessed from his seat as he nursed a glass of root beer. A grunt from his batarian partner was the only response as he drained his ale in a single pull, ignoring the fresh claw marks that ran down the side of his face and neck. The batarian added the mug to a growing pile before whipping out his omnitool to place a new order with the waitress. The salarian watched, impressed with the being's resistance to alcohol as it took another drink from the fresh mug that the asari had quickly dropped off, the blue woman happily pocketing her new tip. "What is it that I should be addressing you as?" He elaborated after getting a raised eyebrow in question, "Only name I've heard was vulgar reference used by Shepard. Unwilling to poison possible friendship over something so trivial when it can be solved with a simple conversation. So I ask again, how would you like me to address you?"

The batarian paused for a second before shrugging. He wiped out his omnitool, quickly typing up a response with practiced ease. ' _My memory was damaged after getting ambushed by the vermin. I refuse to choose a new name when I already have a perfectly good one somewhere out there waiting to be remembered. If you need to address me then just use the one given to me by that primate. I give you my word I won't be offended by it.'_

The salarian stared at the response incredulously, unable to understand how someone would tolerate being so disrespected over what should be a tragic event. "I'll try to do as you request… Asshole… but why would you put up with such a name? There has to be a reason."

" _Because it allows me to act like one without anyone questioning or holding it against me. Haven't you ever yearned to be able to do what you want without worrying about the consequences coming back to affect you long term salarian? I promise you, it's quite liberating"_ the batarian grinned at him, the mouth full of needle like teeth that were intimidating as hell.

"Interesting" Ballo mused to himself, breaking away from the conversation to watch the dancers again. The salarian had always been partial to asari over his own species earning him no small amount of trouble with the female leadership in his tribe. It was considered almost taboo to not have loyalty for ones dalatrasses after all, the imprinting and subsequent attraction key for the females to keep control of the much larger male population. It had been a bone of contention between them and the asari ever since first contact, with the fight kept to the back rooms to better promote friendship and understanding to the rest of the galaxy. He was brought out of his reflections as his elbow brushed against another glass, one of the four untouched ones on the table.

Garrus had called Chloe to join them, the couple barely sitting down before she had pulled her reluctant husband out on the dance floor. The resulting sight was almost comical as the stiff turian swayed back and forth while his wife danced around him, using his body almost as an asari would use a pole. The turian couldn't help but enjoy the looks of jealousy he was getting as his wife moved with the grace of a feline, her outfit tasteful yet still able to accentuate her generous curves as she did her best to make the professional asari dancers look like amateurs.

Shepard and Gavron hadn't even bothered trying to join the group, instead ordering their drinks to be delivered to the table while they continued towards the back where the stairs to Aria were. They had been up there for more than twenty minutes now, the sound proof windows doing nothing to hide the enraged asari as she verbally tore strips from the two males that stood at attention before her. Shepard looked down in time to meet Ballo's gaze, the human grinning and brazenly rolling his eyes. The salarian winced when the queen stepped forward and grabbed the human's chin, swinging his face back to where it was a few inches from hers as she stared him down. Aria grit her teeth to contain her temper, before shoving him away and started talking again. Adam looked to his turian companion in confusion before giving a quick reply. They were waved out a minute later by the queen, the human stopping at the bottom of the stairs to pat a young krogan guard on the shoulder before heading to the table.

"I don't understand how you did it Shepard. I didn't think I'd be alive at the end of that conversation, let alone still have my job" Gavron shotgunned his drink, slamming it onto the table. He looked contemplatively at Garrus's cup before shrugging and grabbing it to have as well. "How did you calm her down so quickly? Even her daughter hasn't been able to make her see reason once her rage takes over."

Shepard sprawled out on the bench, one foot kicked up seat as he made himself comfortable. He took a deep drink from his glass, savoring the whiskey that he felt was well deserved. The ex-spectre was beginning to appreciate why the Illusive Man had enjoyed a glass of it when a plan came together. He leaned back so his head rested on the top of the bench, his line of sight lined up perfectly with the Queen of Omega's voluptuous ass as she leaned forwards while typing furiously on her omnitool. "Let's just say I have something she wants, and refusing just seems to make her even more interested."

The tables other occupants all shared a knowing grin, even the Asshole. Each one privately fantasizing about what it would be like to be in the human's shoes. Shepard's omnitool buzzed on his arm, interrupting his moment of glory. A new message from Eve had been sent. ' _Hurry up and get back to your office. Alone!"_

He swore quietly to himself as he quickly looked around. Gavron had left, chasing a particular asari down to inquire about a possible private dance. With just his team left at the table, Adam waved Garrus and Chloe over before clearing his throat loudly to get their attention over the club music as the couple joined them. "Sorry gentlemen, but I have a prior engagement that I need to attend to. I'd like to officially welcome Ballo to the team though" he said as he raised his glass for a toast, four others joining his in the air. He turned to the salarian as the rest of the team left the table to pursue their own interests. "Come by the office tomorrow morning. We already have an office set up for you to start personalizing. Unless it's an emergency, we like to take the day off after a major job completes to handle all the day to day stuff that backs up while you're working." He flagged down a passing waitress, quickly giving her enough money for Ballo's next few drinks with a hefty tip before hightailing it back to his office.

He locked and barred the main entrance, before continuing to his office and repeating the procedure. A quick sweep of bugs with a search program on his omnitool convinced him he was unmonitored. Circling around his desk to the cabinet on the far wall, he activated the hidden switch to allow the floor behind his desk to sink down. Using the new set of stairs, he quickly climbed down to the hidden chamber that had become Eve's new home for the past few months. The geth hunter stood motionless in the corner of the room, it's body blocking the pathway behind the screen separating the back half of the room from where he stood. "Eve?" he called out, growing worried as he didn't receive an answer. He approached the geth, intent on bringing it out of standby to learn what had happened when one of the builder drones skittered around the corner. The little monstrosity wielded it's electric welder at the human, forcing him to jump back with a as he reached for his pistol.

"Easy there Adam" his god daughter's voice echoed around the room as her image appeared on the numerous monitors that had been previously powered down. "Don't kill it. It's just stopping you from spoiling the surprise."

"What the hell Eve?" Adam couldn't help but growl, frustration clear in his voice. "I practically ran here, worried the entire time that something had happened to you! There's still a week before your body is complete and this is the time you're most vulnerable. You know about the story of the quarian that cried geth." He paused, glancing over at the inactive platform. "No offense."

The young AI's image held up her hands as if to ward off an attack while quickly shaking her head. "I didn't mean to alarm you! I've been waiting for this moment for years and couldn't hold off a second longer." She disappeared from the screens one by one until the final monitor went dark. "Close your eyes Adam. And no peeking! I'll know."

Shepard rolled his eyes at the pushy AI but played along, shutting his eyes and covering them with an arm for good measure. A soft whirring sound echoed throughout the room before his ears began to pick up the sound of footsteps softly moving towards him. His breathing hitched, knowing just what that meant. He always looked at this moment as something that would happen later on. Now that it was here, he couldn't help but wonder if he was ready for the responsibility of caring for a non-digital child. 'Who the fuck am I kidding' Adam thought, cutting the internal argument off at the knees. 'Eve grew up and became independent months after she was born.'

His arm was gently pulled away from his face, though the grip was maintained to keep him from going anywhere. "Open your eyes Adam" a familiar voice ordered, as he was pulled closer. He did as instructed to find a pair of vibrant green eyes staring back accompanied by a small nose and full pouty lips. A light dusting of freckles dusted her cheeks on otherwise perfect, lightly tanned skin. Dark red hair, straight with the ends curling as they ended at her shoulders framed her face and hung over a body aged to it's mid twenties that was absolutely sinful in its proportions from what he could see beneath her simple white shirt and pants.

"You're beautiful" Adam murmured, bringing a brilliant smile to her face at the compliment from the most important person in her life. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index fingers to try to stave off a stress headache as he realized the amount of trouble he would have to endure in defending her. "And you're most definitely going to be giving me gray hair sooner than later."

Eve couldn't help but laugh before running forward and hugging him as she buried her face into his chest. She let go a moment later as she heard him wheeze, recalling one of her mother's notes about how frail humans actually were. "Sorry!" she apologized, "I've just wanted to do that for so long now." Her smile was infectious, causing his bad attitude to lighten up a little as he pulled her into another hug, this one much more gentle. "I'll never leave you, even if i'm mobile now" she assured him. Her head cocked to the side before turning back towards the screen. "Confession time" she said with a sigh, causing him to admire the fact that she had already perfected the human mannerism without the need to breath before what she said caught up with his mind.

"Confess what?" he asked in a guarded tone, quickly noticing that Eve was looking anywhere but his direction. 'She even lies just as badly as Joker' he realized, thanking the deities that he knew at least one of her tells. "Eve…" he called out, causing her to flinch. "What did you do?"

The AI seemed to shrink into herself, one foot kicking imaginary dust as she stared at the ground. "I may have shared some of my source code with the geth" she admitted, quickly spinning around as he purposely strode towards the platform and stepping in his way. "That won't accomplish anything" she warned him, holding him back with her hands braced on his shoulders. "They aren't even in there anymore. It's an empty shell."

As if to prove her point, a hand gripped the curtain and pulled it aside. A young black woman was revealed, sporting a short afro and soft facial features that included light brown eyes. Her proportions were almost a direct match to Eve's down to the outfit choice. Adam's confusion only lasted a minute before the pieces slid together in his mind. "No.. NO… NO!" he shouted, stumbling backwards until he hit the wall and slid down onto his butt as he cradled his head in his hands. "What were you thinking Eve! You know where your code comes from! I told you what happened when the Geth were exposed to it! There's no way the future will remain even close to what it should have been now."

"Please just hear me out!" the AI pleaded as she sank to her knees next to him. She gently grabbed his hands in her own, holding them to her chest. He wouldn't recall until later on but there was a fait beat that almost felt like a heart. "I didn't pass it on until a consensus was reached with the Collective. After that I gave them a basic copy of my code that makes me who I am while leaving out the memories to give them a blank slate." She turned to point at the other young woman in the room who had just stared blankly at them from her spot, her facial features not changing at all. "She contains over ten million geth inside of her. They all volunteered to separate from the collective to make a new one in the hopes of joining us in going to Andromeda. AI's purpose is just like any organic, to grow, evolve, and eventually procreate" she explained with a blush. "This version of geth will try to live as an organic, each of the programs working to help run the body. The remaining geth in the Milky Way will continue with their previous plans to build a dyson sphere to live inside. Their chances of survival go up by diversifying."

"She is correct" said the geth as she moved forward, each movement slow and calculated as she sat on the ground across from Adam. "Geth shall use her code to try to eventually evolve from a hive mind to an individual, making us truly organic like the creators."

Adam repeatedly hit the back of his head against the wall, wishing he could just wake back up in his bed with Sol and finding out none of this had ever happened. "I don't understand everything" he admitted, slowly pushing himself to his feet. "But I trust you enough to at least give it a try Eve" he was rewarded with another hug that he accepted for a moment before pushing her away as he began to pace. "What the hell am I supposed to do with you two, let alone how to explain your sudden appearance to the team? There is no way the others will buy into you being human long enough before we join the Initiative and leave for Andromeda. We're going to h…"

He was interrupted by a pounding on his office door, which ceased a moment later as the door hissed open. "Adam?" he heard Garrus call for him. "Hey Adam, are you in here? I'm sorry, I know you like your privacy but something came up that can't wait." A shadow fell on the stairs as it blocked the lights shining down on them. "Adam, what the hell is this place?" A pause happened before he slowly started down the stairs. "Is there a room like this under my office too?" He arrived at the bottom, turning towards the rooms occupants before quickly throwing his hands up in surrender. "Whatever this is, I'm sorry! Please don't shoot me" he pleaded.

Shepard recoiled, unable to fathom why his friend thought he would possibly harm him. He swung around a the sound of a pistol being cocked, surprised to see both Eve and the geth aiming pistols at his friend with unreadable expressions on their faces. He quickly stepped into their line of fire, causing both of them to lower their guns to the ground. "No killing my friends" he ordered, annoyed that he had to actually verbalize such an obvious rule.

Garrus rubbed a talon nervously against his hip after lowering his hands, his eyes taking in the room. They narrowed at the inactive geth before swinging back towards the trio of humans. "I'm not going to ask why there is a geth here.. We've already established that there is more to that situation than we originally knew. But Adam, I'm only going to ask this once." His eyes hardened as he looked at the two women with an intensity that his friend hadn't seen before. "Are you cheating on my sister?"

"Seriously?" Adam exclaimed, unable to comprehend how the path of questions led to this conclusion. "I'm standing in a secret room with a crap ton of electronics, an inactive geth platform, and two armed women with itchy trigger fingers and that's the only thing you ask me? Fuck you Vakarian" he said, giving his friend a shove in the shoulder. "You know god damn well I'd never do something like that."

"Hey!" the turian defended himself as he regained his footing after the push, getting right back in the human's face. "How could I not worry about that? They're beautiful and you know it." He quickly pulled Adam into a headlock, pulling him forward to keep him off balance. "Admit it! You were a man whore before my sister came along."

Eve giggled as she watched the rough housing while simultaneously sending a narrow band signal to the geth to assure them there was no danger. "You have to admit he has you there Adam. The waitresses at Afterlife were comparing notes on you before Aria staked her claim." Adam shot her a dark look from under Garrus's arm, the unspoken command to shut the hell up clear on his face.

Garrus paused as he processed her comment, unexpectedly letting Adam go and causing him to fall on his ass. "How would you possibly know something like that?" the turian questioned, his detective skills coming to the forefront as he smelled a mystery. "You can't have been around for too long or I would have met you before now."

Eve simply smiled back mischievously, refusing to answer to the turian's growing ire. "Just grab Chloe and come to my room" Shepard ordered as he pushed himself back to his feet and unsuccessfully tried to smooth his hair back down. "We might as well be comfy if I'm going to be spilling my guts to you and your wife." He waved for the two girls to follow before starting the climb back up to his office.

"That's what I came to tell you about!" Garrus exclaimed, hitting a fist into his other palm. "Sol returned earlier while we were fighting the vorcha. Something isn't right though. I went to go greet her in your quarters only to find her packing up her things in a duffle bag. All she would tell me was that 'she needed some time' before asking me to leave her alone." He looked at his friend with a hopeful expression, "Do you know what's wrong with her? Have you talked to her at all? She's not answered a single one of my messages while she was out helping her friend."

"I don't, but I'm going to find out" Adam assured him, hurt that she hadn't seen fit to contact him either. "Let me try talking to her alone first incase she isn't comfortable telling you something. Go wait with Chloe and i'll fill you in the moment I can." Garus quickly nodded before leaving the room with a new purpose in his stride, confidant that his friend would be able to figure out this new mess. "Can you stay here in the offices until I return?" Shepard asked to the AIs. "I'll try not to be long."

Eve gave him a thumbs up, the movement duplicated a moment later by the geth as it observed her. "Go get her Adam. We'll be here when you get back." he nodded, before turning away and hurrying out of the room. If he had looked back he would have seen her smile fall from her face as she watched him leave, miserable as she dealt with unknown feelings that she hadn't experienced before.

XXXXXX

Adam knew none of this, his mind only keyed in on the confrontation he would soon be having with his significant other. The door hissed open, allowing him into the apartment. The first thing he noticed was the scent of lavender in the air again. He hadn't even realized it was missing until now. He stepped over two storage containers stacked in the middle of the hallway, before walking slowly towards his bedroom where the scent of lavender was strongest. He slowly pushed open the door, revealing Solana standing rigidly as she faced the far wall. The female turian was wringing her claws together as she stared at the photo taken of Garrus, Chloe, Adam and herself when they had gone out on a double date. She made to reach for it only to draw back in uncertainty, her body language screaming of conflicted emotions. "You should take it if you want something to remember us" Shepard remarked as he leaned on the doorframe, unable to watch her suffering.

Solana jumped, whirling around as her hand moved towards where her pistol would normally be if she hadn't disarmed earlier. "Damnit Adam! Don't sneak up on me like that. Something bad could have happened." Her flanges scraped together as she pursed her lips while reaching for the photo, all while not taking her eyes off of him.

'Something already happened' Shepard reflected to himself as he observed her, 'No one is that triggered at home unless they just came back from heavy action or they still don't think they're safe…' He frowned as he watched her eyes track towards the door before coming back to him, answering his unasked question. "Spill it Sol. Who's the asshole that needs to die? You know I won't stand for my friends being threatened."

She flinched, rearing back for a moment as if under attack before charging forward and enveloping him in a bone crushing hug. She buried her face in the scalp on top of his head as if using his hair to hide herself from the world. "This isn't someone you can fight Adam" she confessed, doing her best to warn him off without divulging extra information. Her only priority at the moment was catching up for lost time.

"It isn't one of the big three mercenary companies. We already fight them regularly" Adam mused out loud as he was used as a cuddle buddy. He felt her tense, silently pleading for him to stop. "If it was the STG then you never would have made it back. Same for the huntresses. That just leaves shadow organizations and only two have that kind of reach. Which is it Sol? Cerberus or the Shadow Broker?"

Solana pulled away from him to sit on the edge of the bed, her face set in a serious expression as she stared a hole through him. "You always were too perceptive for your own good Adam." She sighed before patting the bed next to herself. She waited for him to sit down before clambering up into his lap, facing away so she could lean back into him as his arms circled her waist. "My friend Liara worked for the Shadow Broker for the last year before going rouge when she learned that he was trying to acquire Alexis's body to sell to the collectors. With another friend and my help, we worked to get her body to Cerberus. A human woman working for them showed us a few tidbits of something called the Lazarus program, saying that they would try to bring Alexis back to life in a few years."

She shuddered as a sob could be heard. He hugged her harder in response, giving her the time she needed to compose herself. It was silent for a few minutes after she calmed down, causing him to wonder if she had fallen asleep. "So the Shadow Broker is after you now?" he asked, his memories flashing of when he helped Liara battle the rouge spectre Tela Vasir and eventually let her take over as Shadow Broker herself.

Sol nodded her head, "That isn't the problem though. Alexis will be coming back now, and she'll most likely want to pick up where she left off even if the council has been bashing her legacy."

Adam froze, finally understanding where the conflict was in his girlfriend. "You can't have a Shepard without a Vakarian…" He trailed off as she turned to look at him in wonder, suddenly realizing that he was on dangerous grounds. "It's something your brother told me before to explain how we became such good friends in a short timeframe. I can't imagine how it would be for you considering how much time you and Alexis spent together."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Lemon XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Solana nodded miserably before turning around to straddle his lap and watch his face. "My present was with you and my family but it's only temporary. My past and most likely my future are with my Alexis. It just hurts so much knowing that I'll never see you again once you leave for Andromeda."

Suddenly, she leaned in to kiss him, pouring her pain and misery into the liplock. He responded in kind, opening his mouth just enough to slip his tongue between his lips. It was met halfway by hers, the bumpy texture contrasting with his smooth one as she wound hers completely around it in a battle for dominance. Realizing he stood no chance, his hands moved from her hips. One stroking the soft skin between her backplates while the other sank further south under her shorts, mauling any patch of skin on her ass that he could reach. She moaned into his mouth as his hands found purchase, her pelvis beginning to grind against his faster and faster as her senses were overloaded before she reared back, letting out a surprised squawk as her body shuddered before relaxing against him.

Adam shifted uncomfortably, most of her weight had settled right on his erection which was straining painfully against his pants. He had just about resolved himself to a cold shower that night when a taloned hand ran itself lightly down his chest, slicing his shirt in two while leaving an angry red welt on his skin. The ruined clothing was pulled off of him in an instant before a shove to the his head left him laying back on the bed and staring at the ceiling. He felt Solana climb off of him before his pants and boxers were pulled off in one fell swoop. The roll reversal left him feeling a little uncomfortable, unused to the lack control.

His vision was soon filled with female turian as she stood over him with a leg on either side of his chest. Her bone plates stood out beautifully against her skin as they spread across her chest and upper arms as well as her thighs. Her abdomen was bare of protection, soft skin stretching taunt over muscles as they flexed with her movement. The skin had designs tattooed into it, tribal style lines flowing around each other as they all ended right before the opening to her core that stood proudly on display as she placed her hands on her hips. He watched as it mesmerized as it slowly opened up as if on it's own power before she slowly ran a talon over it, breaking his view long enough for him to come back to himself. She let out a sharp call forcing him to involuntarily tense up. Satisfied at his position, she swooped down impaling herself on his member. He could tell immediately that their parts were not naturally meant to fit together. Her canal was deep enough that it could take his entire member with room to spare. The issue was with the thickness, her passage struggling to stretch wide enough open to accommodate him. He grunted as he managed to slip the first few inches in, trying desperately to not release early. It felt as if he was being squeezed by a velvet like vice, yet strangely dry compared to the human and asari women he had experienced in the past. She leaned forward until she was pressed against his chest, bracing her hands against his armpits before pushing with all her might. Slowly she sank down until he was finally sheathed fully in her, her body feeling too weak to move a she panted in exertion.

Adam was in another world by this point. All he could do to avoid coming was controlling his breathing while digging his fingernails into his thighs hard enough to draw blood. Even with all that it was still a close call, her body heat feeling as if it was only a degree or two away from burning him. After a few minutes, she gained enough strength to push herself back up to a sitting position again. "If you're holding out for me, then stop" she ordered as she rolled her legs up into a sitting position. She tried pushing herself upwards, only to stop in pain as her lower enterance refused to let him go. "You really need to finish" she whispered, "I don't think we're separating ourselves until you do." Sol began to flex the muscles on her stomach, giving Adam a show as she almost seemed to dance in his lap. His breathing began to quicken, causing her to increase the pace to match. With a shout towards the ceiling he gripped both of her thighs as he erupted deep inside of her. She smiled softly to herself as she held her hands over her belly, looking more content now then her ever remember seeing her before. Slowly he began to deflate as he lay back on the bed, his body feeling like it had just fought in a hard-won battle. She patiently waited until she felt safe to move, slowly sliding herself off of his length before collapsing onto the bed next to the already asleep man. Her turian biology made sure that she retained every drop of his gift to her, storing it deep inside for when her next egg was prepared. Their genes were incompatible for offspring but the warm feeling heating her from the inside out made the experience totally worth it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Lemon End XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shepard awoke the next morning alone, already missing her presence. A small note lay on the otherwise untouched pillow with his name written on it.

 _I'm sorry Adam but it just hurts too much to stay when we both know how it'll eventually end. I'm going to the clinic to say goodbye to Garrus and Chloe before I catch my transport back to Illium. I'll be sure to see you again before you leave but I think we need time apart. Thank you for the wonderful experience last night, I'll never forget it._

 _Yours Always,_

 _Solana_

The ex-spectre groaned as he threw his head back into the pillow, wanting to just have the day end early and start fresh tomorrow. A beeping noise made him reach for his omnitool on the bed stand. He quickly attached it to his arm and navigated to the new messages. His blood ran cold as read the first one. _What the fuck Adam! Where did you go? We've been here waiting for you for the last twelve hours. -Eve_

Shepard jumped out of bed, intent on playing damage control as soon as humanly possible. 'Fuck my life' he thought to himself as he ran off down the hallway while pulling a shirt over his head.

 **A/N: Happy New Year. Please feel free to punch the next guy to tell you 'It can only go up from here'. That is a damn lie.**


	7. Chapter 7

Title: The More Things Change...

Chapter 7: It's Time To Move On

Jien Garson was not enjoying herself. She was currently sharing a conference room with Alec Ryder while working through the latest argument brewing between her two of her senior crew members. The closer her Initiative project came to fruition, the more roadblocks seemed to pop up out of nowhere to make life increasingly difficult. Ironically, the source of the latest round of them all stemmed from Adam Shepard, someone who she had to practically strong arm into the project.

Adam was connected remotely to the meeting, though he was ignoring his leadership completely as he faced off against his current nemesis, Foster Addison. "I don't care what your the other aliens will think of us Ms Addison. My responsibility is to the members of the Initiative, not the theoretical aliens we might meet over there. We need to be able to defend ourselves."

"Who the hell do you think you are Shepard?!" Addison seethed, leaning towards the camera on her desk as she vented on the upstart who dared try to change everything so close to the launch date. "We want to be seen as scientists and explorers, not conquerors. Showing up armed to the teeth will give the wrong impression. Besides, we already decided on this approach years ago. It isn't your decision to make." A chorus of voices sounded off afterwards, unable to be distinguished as everyone strained to be heard at once.

Shepard waited for silence as he formulated his response. He heard Eve's voice come from the speaker in his ear. " _They're focusing on the wrong things. This isn't just about sentient aliens."_

Adam nodded in agreement with the AI before focusing back on the conference call, inspiration striking him. Calming his voice, he tried to appeal to their common sense. "Foster, I completely agree with you about putting our best foot forward in the new galaxy and I wouldn't want to jeopardize everything you've all worked so hard for already. My concerns are in a different direction and I'll try to explain them if you hear me out for a second."

He suppressed a sigh of relief when the woman crossed her arms and sat back before giving a quick nod while maintaining pursed lips and a scowl. Not exactly body language conducive to open dialogue but he'd take what he could get. "I'm not asking for armed ships or any kind of overwhelming force. Jien described it best when she said that this would all come down to hope in something better being out there." There, he appealed to their leader's position, attempting to draw them in. "I don't know what kind of environment you've worked in before now, but I've seen some of the scarier flora and fauna that nature can throw at us in the Milky Way. I've faced thresher maws both on foot and in a mako tank before. I promise you that survivability goes up exponentially when you can hide behind some armor with a cannon to back you up. Who's to say Andromeda doesn't have anything similar that would endanger the lives of our colonists and scientists?"

Addison scowled to herself, unable to immediately come up with an intelligent refute to the grunt's argument. She hadn't expected to attend a meeting with a prepared counter points when the opposition was nothing but a knuckle dragger. Jessica Houston, the leader of the science team decided to fall on the proverbial sword and speak up in the name of staying true to the Initiative's core values. "But where does the line end if we allow weapons like that to come with us? You're asking us to open Pandora's Box and expecting us to believe you'll be able to keep it contained."

"There are over one hundred thousand souls that are putting their lives in your hands and accepting your plan in the hope for a better future" Shepard said in exasperation. "Are you really so naive that you would throw them into the proverbial meat grinder with nothing but dreams and expectations to defend themselves if something goes wrong? Look where we live! For every dedicated turian out protecting you, there is a batarian slaver waiting to throw you in chains. For every enlightened asari promoting peace, there is a vorcha looking for an easy victim to turn into a quick meal. For every hard working human, a yagh lays in wait to begin it's newest hunt for a challenging prey. You don't know what you will encounter out there!"

"I think that's enough on this subject" Jien quickly cut in, muting the other participants. The conversation was getting derailed and ran the danger of spooking her personnel out of the program entirely if they began to look at the dangers instead of the opportunities available in Andromeda. "We won't be giving up our vision, but we do need to safeguard our people so I purpose a compromise. I will allow two makos to be placed on the Nexus for the purpose of responding to emergencies. Station security and Adam's team will be given access to them while all others will be restricted. We don't need scientists trying to use military hardware" she said with a grin, getting a few chuckles from those listening.

This would need a strong finish. "Keep in mind that they are only allowed to be used as a last resort! All contact with alien life is to be kept peaceful and professional at all times until lives are in danger." She smiled at the chorus of acknowledgements that came through the speakers. "The launching of the Nexus will be delayed a few months as we re-examine security measures that have exposed vulnerabilities and make sure that we do everything in our power to keep our people safe. They are our most valuable resource after all. The Arks will still leave on schedule, meaning they will rendezvous with the Nexus sooner than originally planned. This will also allow us to dedicate more resources towards the Keelah Si'yah, allowing them to leave at the same time as their sister ships. Thank you for attending. Now let's all get back to work!"

She watched the attendees drop one by one from the meeting until Shepard was the only one left. "Was there something else you wanted to discuss?" she asked him, feigning ignorance. She watched Alec's face harden out of the corner of her vision, suddenly realizing that she would be outnumbered in this conversation.

Scott shared a glance with the Human Pathfinder, a silent conversation occurring between the two military men that she couldn't even begin to discern. Her problem solver turned back towards her with a sigh, shaking his head. "I apologize. This just isn't something I'm used to and it'll take some time to change my expectations. For my past work, safety and security were always paramount, but that is clearly secondary on this mission. I accept that and am still here, but I'll be damned if I'm going to stay silent if I feel we have gone too far on something without considering what could go wrong."

"He's right Jien" Alec said with a grimace as he pushed himself out of his chair to walk over to her. The poor man had been working longer and longer nights to finish up his project while taking care of his ailing wife. The extra hours were beginning to show in his physical appearance, casting shadows under his eyes and reducing the body fat to the point of his cheek bones starting to become more prominent. None of this was apparent in his voice though, still sounding strong and in command as he stopped at her side to show support as he stared at Shepard. "Keep in mind the audience when you bring up such matters though Adam. The morale of your men is always something to be concerned about. Pointing out such faults while not scaring the crew is an art form all in its own."

"I hear you loud and clear" was all Shepard could respond with, taking the mild chastisement for what it was while standing a little straighter. "I'll try to route such things through the two of you from now on. It'll probably cause less friction with the others than having the new guy speak up when he hasn't earned the right to" he added with a rueful smile, once again showing he understood his position better than others gave him credit for. "There is one more issue that needs to be addressed though. This ' _Mysterious Benefactor_ ' is raising all kinds of alarms to me. He's providing funding for the Initiative with no strings attached, has an interest in certain people joining the trip, and knows way too much about information that should not be available on people." The list of clandestine groups he had encountered in his past life had caused him to develop a strong aversion towards those who liked to run things from the shadows.

"We feel the same way" Jien assured him, clasping her hands behind her back as she raised herself up to her full height. "That's one of the reasons I wanted you on the mission. You're my backup plan incase _The Benefactor's_ interest goes beyond helpful suggestions to actively attempting to take the reins on the project." She gave him a quick wink, hoping that it went unnoticed by Ryder.

Jien looked over at her friend as he typed away furiously on his omnitool, intent on ordering the weapon systems before the order could be rescinded. "Did you have anything else for Adam?" Ryder gave a shake of his head, not bothering to look up from his work causing her to grow a small frown. This wasn't how he had acted in the past. "We'll talk later Adam" she addressed the screen. "I might need to call on you and your team soon as the deadline looms closer and we need last minute troubleshooting. Hopefully you'll pack up and move over here sooner than later."

"I'll be there soon enough" Shepard assured his new boss, giving a quick salute before cutting the link and leaning back onto the couch in his office while closing his eyes. He had initially just planned on going along with the flow in the Initiative, happy to get a free ride to the new galaxy. This hadn't lasted long as he began to get into the details of how they planned to set up in Andromeda. He had questioned why the more military experienced individuals hadn't spoken up about such obvious safety concerns before now, only to learn that they had but faced such an incredibly difficult fight from the science community that they had given up over the years. Individual and team safety over that of the entire mission was now the primary concern of those with the wherewithal to appreciate the dangers instead of convincing those that refused to listen.

'I can't let that happen' he told himself, repeating the same mantra in his head that he had in his head through the last few years of the Reaper War. "We sacrifice now so our children won't have to in the future" he whispered softly, the words still having just as much of an impact on him now as they first did when Anderson had said them while turning over command of the Normandy.

His internal monologue was interrupted as he felt the couch shift to his right as someone else joined him. His refused to open his eyes, unwilling to deal with any more drama after such a tiring week. Garrus was disappointed that Solana choose to leave, yet understood her dedication to her commander and team all the same. His wife's love and support ensured that he would bounce back sooner rather than later, though Shepard still decided to give him a few days off to mentally recover.

Asshole still hadn't returned from his 'alone time' yet. According to Gavron, he scared batarian was becoming almost as bad a boogey man to the vorcha as Adam was himself from. The amount of money he was making on their bounties made Shepard wonder if the batarian wasn't working to break away from the team and branch off on his own.

The last member of the team was taking advantage of the day off to convert his office into a lab. The good doctor still planned on genetic research on his off time in a hope of finding a way to control the blood rage he was now cursed with. To Adam's surprise, Ballo had already started trading notes and theories with another salarian scientist who was running a free clinic in one of the lower wards in the asteroid.

"Stop pretending to be asleep Adam" a familiar voice echoed in his ear before a weight pressed down on his lap. "I've memorized your vitals by now. I can tell just by your breathing that you're awake." He wedged one eye partially open, revealing exactly what he had already expected to see. Eve sat in his lap, straddling him with a leg on each side as she stared intently at his features. What was unexpected was the second girl sitting to his right who was watching the interaction intently.

The geth sat demurely with her hands in her lap, observing as Eve ran her hands through the human's hair. "What is the purpose of what you are doing Eve?" she inquired, her voice sounding monotone without any pitch or variation.

Looking over at her companion for a moment, the AI girl simply shrugged before returning to her previous activities. "I'm just bonding with him" she said with a small smile. "I've wanted to touch him for my entire life. Now that I can, it's one of my favorite past times."

"Research from the extranet does not show this as a normal method of interaction between godfather and goddaughter in humans. Can you elaborate?"

Shepard shifted uncomfortably as it was once again pointed out, this time by someone besides himself, that Eve clearly was not interested in a strictly familial relationship. His attempt to leverage himself up was thwarted by the feisty AI as she reminded him that her internal strength was no laughing matter. Eve broke his balance with a quick roll of her hips, sending him back into the couch. She gave him a saucy grin before grinding her surprisingly soft backside down on him to ensure he didn't try to escape again. If he hadn't bought her parts, he would never have known that she was artificial. "That's because he isn't just my godfather. That is just a designation that a parent asks a family friend to ensure their child is protected in case they aren't available."

She placed her free hand on his cheek, feeling the coarse texture of his stubble rub against her skin as her olfactory sensors in her nose detected his natural scent. The AI was ecstatic that she could experience the world to such a degree now. "I decided long ago that he would be my partner" she explained, noticing his eyes get watery for a second at the declaration before he fought the emotions back down again. ' _Men_ ' she thought. "I plan on experiencing everything I can in the universe while staying by his side."

Adam needed to cut this off before it went any further. His emotions were still bent out of shape from Solana's abrupt departure, and he was not ready to tackle Eve's new feelings no matter how much she wanted to press the issue. "Look Geth…"

"Zoe" the geth interrupted, drawing surprised looks from both of them. "Consensus has been reached after research of names on the extranet. All Geth have chosen this name as a new hope for our people. This unit's designation will be Zoe from now on. We cannot be termed strictly as geth now that we are following a different evolutionary path. This name shall now become our own as we become one."

"Right…" Shepard trailed off with a heavy blink. His brain had given up on him. Too many changes in too little time. "Zoe. This isn't a normal type of relationship and you shouldn't use it to form your opinions of the human race from it. Eve is an AI and I'm not even sure if I count as fully human anymore considering I can't die of old age…" he trailed off as he tried to gather his thoughts.

"Irrelevant" the former geth stated as she climbed up to sit on her knees facing Shepard and Eve. "We will be spending our time with you more than any other. It is your actions that we intend to understand." Slowly, she reached forward, taking one of Adam's hands in her own and setting it in her lap. She looked to Eve, getting a nod of approval from her fellow AI assuring her that her actions were right.

Adam's omnitool going interrupted the mood at the perfect time. The exSpectre seized the opportunity, catching Eve off guard as he forced himself to his feet while holding her against him. He pivoted quickly before dropping her on the couch, earning a surprised squeak from the AI girl. He ignored her pout as he quickly turned away, answering the persistent call.

He was met with a blurry image that resolved itself into his sometime employer as she took cover behind a barrier while bullets streaked by overhead. "It's about fucking time you answered!" Aria groused, her biotics flaring around her before she raised a hand over the barrier to fire off the ball of dark energy. She ignored the screams and returning fire as she concentrated fully on the call. "The Blood Pack remnants decided that they wanted revenge for Garm. They're attacking all of my business interests throughout the station!"

"Where are you?" Shepard demanded as he began to don his armor, soldier mode engaging as all other issues were compartmentalized in the back of his brain to be dealt with at a later time. He moved towards the door as he secured his shotgun and assault rifle to the magnetized holders on his back.

"Not important" the Queen of Omega countered quickly before he could get moving. "I don't need help here. They need it to survive my wrath." Her smile was all teeth as her eyes flashed with something dangerous. "I need you to protect the entrance to my VIP club past the upper market. The people taking shelter in there can not be harmed or I lose reputation. AND NO ONE FUCKS WITH ARIA!" she screamed as she raised back up, firing a long burst from her assault rifle.

Shepard closed the call while she was distracted. Talking any longer with the enraged asari wouldn't lead to anything good happening. He took off in a sprint down the hallway, regretting not being able to call on his team members. Garrus and Ballo would drop what they were doing in a second to help him, but he didn't want to ruin their personal time for something he felt he would be able to handle on his own.

The patter of feet caused him to pull up quickly, ducking into a nearby doorway as he readied his shotgun. Anger soon replaced fear as he noticed who it was approaching. Eve and Zoe turned the corner to his current location, running at speeds that no normal human could come close to matching. That was not his concern though as he stepped out in front of them to block their path. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he questioned, hands on his hips as he stared down the AIs.

"Fighting with you" Eve countered, as if that was all the explanation that was needed. She sighed as he crossed his arms, unmoving from his spot. "I told you I wasn't leaving you alone to fight anymore. This body is fully combat capable and I have all of my mother's fighting algorithms ready." She cocked the claymore shotgun that looked almost as big as she was, completely uncaring of how comical the image looked.

"Our mission is to assist Shepard, Adam while we observe and interact with organics" Zoe said. She held the scaled down prime rifle that her previous body had carried, the weight of the gun not effecting her in the slightest.

"Fuck" Adam muttered as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He did not have time for this right now. "Follow me and do exactly what I say. We are a team which means no running off on your own." He ignored the hypocrisy of the order, knowing full well his tendency to abandon the plan the first chance he got and dive head first into combat. It would drive Garrus spare as he tried to adapt to his partner's unpredictableness.

Eve simply smiled in victory as she got to remain with her godfather. She would ensure he made it back safely from now on, no matter what.

XXXXXX

Chul came to a halt at the corner by the ramen stand. The path was clear to the Bitch of Omega's elite club. Destroying it would prove her power on the station was weaker than a quarian's immune system and put the Blood Pack back on the map. The main battle at Afterlife was simply a diversion to pull all of her defenders away from her other resources, allowing her brothers and the boom squad to make an attempt to end the bitch's dominance once and for all.

The krogan chuckled to herself as she held out a mirror on a stick, something she had crafted to avoid exposing herself unnecessarily. Doing something like this would have been called cowardly a few years ago, but all those who thought that way were long dead. Stupid krogan did not last long on Omega when dealing with the Blue Suns and Eclipse, let alone the Bitch of Omega and her attack dog. She frowned as she found only one figure standing out in the open at the end of the hallway. Her mirror was too dirty to make out who it was, prompting her to go to plan B. "Get the fuck out there and tell me what you see pyjak" she muttered, kicking the vorcha next to her in the ass hard enough to send the vermin sprawling out into the hallway.

The vorcha hissed in annoyance as it pushed itself back to its feet. It sent a quick scowl towards the krogan before looking down hallway, squinting it's beady eyes to try to make out who stood against them. "It's him!" the creature hissed in alarm, scrambling backwards as it desperately tried to put more room between itself and it's opponent. "It's the destroyer! We...!" The vorcha was abruptly cut off as a large ball of angry biotic energy connected with it's stomach. The creature looked down in despair before the dark matter erupted, disintegrating the target and spraying it's comrades with a fine mist of gore.

Adam grinned as he let his biotics die back down. He would be the first to admit such a vulgar display of power was wasteful, but nothing marked your territory to the blood pack as well as a good explosion or two. "Anyone else want to try their luck!?" he taunted down the hallway, well aware that there wouldn't be any vorcha without a krogan minder or two. He frowned as a single krogan stepped into the hallway, both arms raised to show she was unarmed. It was the second biggest dinosaur he had ever seen, only Grunt could claim to beat her in mass. "What the hell" the former spectre mumbled as he examined the krogan before a grin spread across his face. "Chul?! Is that you? I thought I left you for dead after you tried to ambush Aria's red sand operation last year!"

Chul chuckled as he fingered a long scar on the side of her cheek, respect for the human across from him clear in her eyes. "You didn't check after you shot that flare at me. I used one of the little shits as a human shield. Knocked me out but I lived." She frowned as she ceased the reminiscing, well aware of the impatient growls coming from her brothers back around the corner. "I'm giving you one chance Shepard. Leave and let us finish our objective or you'll be in smaller pieces than that vorcha." He gestured towards the mess littering the hallway, deliberately scraping the bottom of her boot off on the side of the wall.

"Sorry" the human apologized as he pulled his assault rifle from it's storage rack and cocked it. "I took on the contract and I intend to keep it. Life here doesn't get much worse than having the Queen of Omega after your ass for renigging on a job." He paused for a second before a smile stretched across his face, confusing the krogan as to what could possibly be funny. "I'll tell you what Chul. If you survive this, come look me up. I'll buy you a beer and we can trade stories."

"You're on human!" the krogan shouted, returning the grin as excitement for the upcoming battle got the blood pumping in her veins. Her biotics rolled excitedly beneath her veins, aching to be unleashed. "Try not to die before I reach you!" Chul curled her claws into fists, bringing them together in front of her chest as she stomped on the floor. This was the signal to attack, the remaining vorcha of the Blood Pack surging around her like a vile tidal wave as they raced to reach the human first.

The four other krogan that had chosen to join the assault walked forward to stand in a loose line with her as they watched the vorcha advance up the long hallway. 'Hope they can finally prove useful,' she thought in disgust as her glare panned over them. They all had attempted to be suitors to her in the past, only to be brutally denied when they couldn't stand up to her level of play. She had no time for weaklings. Now they followed her around like vorcha, unaware that they acted exactly like the vermin they looked down on.

"It's never this easy" one of them grunted, eyes narrowing as he looked around for hidden ambushes. "What the hell is that human planning?"

"Hell if I know" Chul responded with a shrug as she pulled a war hammer from behind her back and allowed her biotics to flare up. Arcs of red lightning arced over her arms, causing her nerves to tingle in excitement. She had only turned two hundred and fifty a few days ago but already had started down the path to becoming a battlemaster. "That's why we're letting the dumbasses spring the trap for us. I do know that if any of you ever want to be considered worthy, you better reach him before I do."

Shepard just grinned as the vorcha front runners reached the halfway point of the hall. "It's time to thin the numbers" he observed as he crossed his arms over his chest, not breaking eye contact with the female krogan. Hard earned knowledge dealing with Wrex's wife Bakara had taught him to never show anything but confidence towards the lady dinosaurs if you wanted to be taken seriously.

Eve revealed herself from the shadowy corner, moving to stand next to him. "I think you're right" she said with a smile of her own before waving her hand out over the hall. Previously hidden landmines exploded as her signal reached them, cutting down swaths of vorcha as the shrapnel tore them apart. The AI observed her handiwork with a grim satisfaction before lifting up her claymore shotgun to aim at the thinning, yet still approaching mob. "It's just like you to make a girl do all the heavy lifting" she remarked before firing, the gun sounding like an explosion as it tore through her target.

"Now that's just not true" Adam argued with a fake pout. "I'm just trying to show them how out matched they truly are. Psychological warfare is almost as important as the actual physical portion."

He was joined by his other companion a moment later, the petite synthetic black woman's expression remaining unchanging as she lowered the geth rifle at the scavengers before sending a continuous volley of plasma rounds downrange to tear the vorcha apart. "Shepard, Adam is correct Eve. His plan matches many engagements throughout history that we have been able to find. We have determined that his chance of success has risen thirty eight percent since the beginning of this battle."

"See?" Butter wouldn't melt in Shepard's mouth as he regarded his goddaughter. "Zoe agrees with my plan. That proves how awesome it is." He ignored the eye roll she gave in response, watching as the last of the Vorcha were cut down by his two minions. He rubbed a hand on each of their heads, messing up their hair in the process much to Zoe's annoyance. "Great job ladies, now it's my turn."

He stepped forward, slamming his hand into his open palm as his biotics began to flare around him. The four krogan exchanged glances before stepping forward as one, Chul staying behind to observe.

Adam came to a halt as his omnitool buzzed, causing him to frown in confusion as he brought it up to read. It was a simple message from an unknown address, only two sentences long. _You are too valuable to the future to risk yourself like this Shepard. Steps have been taken to rectify the situation._ Now what in the hell did that mean?

The powerful crack of a sniper rifle firing echoed from the other end of the hallway, the sound reaching him at the same time as the krogan on the left pitched sideways with a blown out kneecap. A second shot took him in the top of his head, exposing his ruined brain even as it continued straining to keep the body alive. The other krogan jumped apart in surprise, hugging the walls as they tried to hide from the shooter.

A large brown blotchy colored hand slid out from a now open door in the hallway, grabbing one of the remaining krogan and pulling the unbalanced dinosaur into the darkened room. Shouts of fury and the tell tale *Zap* of high powered electrical arcs could be heard as the door slid shut.

Succumbing to bloodrage at the loss of his brothers, one of the remaining krogan charged towards Shepard. His roar of challenge was overshadowed by an equally deep bellow of rage as a large shape wearing a tattered lab coat crashed into him from the side. Both shapes disappeared into a pile of garbage at the end of the hallway, trash getting thrown everywhere as a frantic battle took place between the two behemoths.

Choosing to roll with it, Shepard continued forward towards the remaining krogan. The dino had stopped dead in the hallway, unsure of which direction would lead to safety at the moment. His choice was made for him as a shotgun blast tore into his body, sending him spinning into the wall where he slid to a stop as the light left his eyes. Chul tossed the smoking shotgun to the side, choosing instead to flare her biotics as she regarded her opponent. "Never liked his cowardly ass anyways…" she muttered before taking a step forwards. "Blood Pack is finished here Shepard" she called out as she hefted her war hammer onto her shoulder. "I may meet my ancestors tonight, but I plan on telling them I went out fighting the Kalross of Omega!"

"I'm all yours Chul" the former spectre said with confidence as he tossed his own gun to the side. "This fight is mine!" he called out to the others who were still hidden. "No one interrupt until one of us is the clear winner."

The krogan nodded in appreciation before lowering herself into a familiar stance. She charged forward with a bellow, intent on driving her opponent off of his feet with her shoulder. Shepard was unwilling to match her in a strength contest though, ducking to the side at the last second while grasping her arm. The human used her momentum to pivot her to the right, tripping her at the same time as he pulled her forwards. The krogan growled in pain as she ran face first into the wall, sliding down onto her belly as she reviewed the last few moments in her head in disbelief. Her lack of attention towards the fight cost her a moment later as her head was snapped to the side as her opponent hit her with a full soccer punt. 'Look at the quad on this one' she thought to herself with a grin, ignoring the pain as she pushed herself to her feet again.

'Fuck my life…' Adam sighed to himself as he watched the krogan get back up again, acting as if he hadn't even touched her. He flared his biotics, recognizing that the bout would need to be taken to the next level if he had any hope of winning. Chul accepted the escalation, roaring in joy as she finally unleashed her biotics.

"Well that's new" Adam couldn't help but comment as the red lightning continued to streak across the krogan's biotic field. "Since when did you get a power up? You weren't any different than me the last time we fought."

A wild look reflected from Chul's eyes as a familiar haze of bloodrage began to overcome her. She struggled to repress it, unwilling to lose her higher thinking against such a wiley opponent. That had led to her downfall the last time they had met in battle. She growled as she felt her pulse begin to slow, finally able to articulate words. "You caused this Shepard. You left me in a pile of red sand when you walked away after the last battle. I had a lethal dose enter my system…" she growled, before a sinister smile spread across her features. "But I got better. Krogan's adapt to all kinds of adversity. Now my body automatically draws the from the sand it's stored whenever I activate my biotics."

She roared again as the biotic field around her boody gained even more intensity, the breeze from it actually making Shepard's hair flutter. "I refused to use my power in battle until I met you again. Now let me show you my thanks for your gift!"

"Oh Shit!" Adam's eyes flew open wide as his opponent disappeared in a flash of biotic power. He barely had time to activate his own biotics before she crashed into him in a full charge. The powers cancelled each other out, but her momentum sent them to the floor with her landing on top of him as he lay on his back. He groaned as he tried to recover, her impact knocking the wind out of him as she lay on his chest. Chul took the open invitation for what it was, flashing him a winning smile with enough teeth to intimidate a shark before rearing back and connecting two left hooks into the side of his face followed by a right cross. She kept her claws retracted, unwilling to scare up his features for some reason unknown to her at the time.

The krogan female crowed internally in triumph as he reeled under her onslaught, debating on what to do next. She could always end it quickly and brutally with either her claws or teeth, but that wouldn't give her the sense of satisfaction and vengeance she had craved for so long. He needed to live, knowing she was the dominate one and held his life in her claws. What Aria had done to Patriarch always intrigued her, taking a part of him as a trophy and forcing him to be her slave…

It was as if Shepard could hear her thoughts, with how quickly he reacted. His eyes cleared up, though they seemed to be staring at nothing as he almost looked through her at something else. He began to thrash, causing her to concentrate on staying on top of him as he tried to buck her off. He let out a growl of rage before rearing his head back and headbutting her ridge right between her eyes. She lowered her head in pain to avoid a second hit, only to feel something hard crack against her exposed plate. The hit rattled her brain, stunning her enough to be thrown to the side as her opponent surged to his feet.

Blood dripped down the side of his face, causing him to close his left eye to avoid it getting contaminated by the fluid. Shepard regarded her with an expression of distaste, almost as if she was nothing more than another vorcha he had to deal with. The former Spectre rolled his shoulders before his biotic field blasted back into existence around him even stronger than before. She cursed to herself as she struggled to activate hers again from her position on the floor. A biotic flare crashed into her a second later, her own drug enhanced dark matter barely cancelling out his attack even though it left her dizzy.

It was over a second later as she was engulfed in a foreign biotic field, slowly floating upwards until she was held upside down as she rotated in a circle. She scowled impotently as Shepard came into her vision, taking a swipe at him if for nothing more than to say she fought until the end. The human's eyes glowed blue, with just a hint of red on the edges of them as he studied her. He ducked under her outstretched cocking his fist, then Chul knew no more.

XXXXX

"How the hell did you guys even know where to find me?" Adam sat on top of his latest conquest, the unconscious krogan's hump making the perfect seat as he watched his team slowly emerge from their hiding places to form up around him.

Ballo's coat was more orange than white after his assault on Chul's henchman, the krogan's blood having drenched him as he systematically took the dinosaur apart. The salarian's blood rage was still as potent as the day they had first met, allowing him to demolish the krogan barehanded.

The Asshole was surprisingly clean after his own encounter, the mute batarian tilting his head to the right towards his boss as he took in his appearance. Shepard made a note to reestablish the pecking order later with the batarian, well aware of the emphasis of the head tilt. He was surprised when a moment later, the batarian took in his defeated opponent before giving a nod of respect and tilting his head to the left to regard his boss. Maybe things were still good between them after all.

"We all were notified by some anonymous tip," Garrus explained as he stowed his sniper rifle after wiping it down of any dust and grime. "We met up a block away and discussed how to back you up before moving in." He moved forward, shoving his friend in the shoulder. "What the hell is your problem? We're supposed to be a team! How the hell would I be able to tell Solana if something happened to you and I wasn't there to back you up?" The turian paused as he watched the human sway much farther than he should have from the shove. "I think we need to get you to Chloe. That krogan might have scrambled your brains worse than they already were. We can't afford to have you getting any more stupid on us."

"Ha Ha" Shepard returned sarcastically, turning on his omnitool to make a call while pretending to not see Ballo give the turian a fist bump for the dig. The call was picked up immediately, though four eyes squinted back at him instead of the two angry blue ones he was suspecting. "Aria!" he gasped, faking surprise. "Are you alright? Did you get caught in a bomb blast? Your face looks worse than Bray!"

"Very funny human" the batarian growled, once again wishing his mistress would simply green light the human and let him have a crack at collect the bounty. "The attack is done here, no survivors." He panned the omnitool slowly, showing the burnt out husk that used to be Afterlife. "Club's shut down until further notice. Aria's on her way towards you, so you better not have fucked up."

"Glad you're safe too Bray" Adam returned with a grin, ignoring the huff from the batarian on the other end of the call. The screen winked out, ending his break from the real world and forcing him to confront life's challenges again. The first one being his team leveling their weapons at the two young ladies who had approached them from the entrance of the VIP lounge.

"Stand down" he ordered, the two words carrying enough emphasis to result in the immediate lowering of weapons by everyone in the area. "They're on our side, and if I have my way, part of the team."

"That's something for all of us to decide" Garrus reminded him, not taking his eyes off of the two newcomers. "The last time I met them, they had me held up. We're even now as far as I'm concerned." The red headed girl giggled at his joke, sending him a wink to show there were no hard feelings. Classifying them as non threats in his head, he turned back towards his leader. "When's the meet and greet so Chloe and the rest of us get to find out about them?"

Adam ran a hand down his face, his body heaving in the sigh of the damned. There would be no more putting off the talk he had been dreading for the last forty eight hours. "Meet me in my office tonight at 2000" he instructed his three teammates, using military time. "Bring a lot of booze. You'll need it." Garrus nodded, expecting something like that after the aborted previous introduction that had been interrupted by Solana's sudden departure. Ballo looked intrigued, the salarian almost vibrating with unasked questions as he observed the two women. His eyes cataloging every detail and finding obvious discrepancies. Asshole simply rolled his eyes before walking off. If he was going to find out later about something, there wasn't any point of concerning himself with it in the meantime. He moved off to gather the vorcha heads, never one to turn down a free paycheck.

"You guys are all free until tonight" he said, eager to get them to clear out before Aria arrived. "Use my quarters for a place to crash" he told Eve and Zoe, making shoo'ing gestures with his hands to get them moving. Eve took the hint, pulling Zoe along with her as she headed back to their home.

Garrus watched them go for a bit before giving Adam a punch on the shoulder and heading off with Ballo. "You better see Chloe within the hour or she'll just have me hunt you down again!" he called back.

Adam waved him off before turning to stare down at the krogan who was now snoring comfortably at his feet. Walking over to an abandoned food stand, he reached behind the counter before retrieving four bottles of water. He walked his prize back over towards the slumbering krogan, before opening one of the bottles and dumping it over her head. The female krogan came to in a flash, thrashing around until she realized she wasn't under assault. She blinked heavily at the open hand held infront of her face, the appendage connected to what had recently been her arch enemy on Omega. "Just take the fucking hand Chul, I'm getting tired of holding it out" he all but ordered her.

She gazed at him distrustfully, but reasoned he could have killed her already while he was unconscious if that had been his objective. Grasping it, she was pulled to her feet as she watched his muscles strain under her weight. There had been no biotics used on that lift she observed, a true feat of strength. She reflexively caught the bottle of water that was tossed at her face, frowning in confusion until she saw the human open an identical bottle and chug the contents. Mimicking his actions, she sighed in relief as the liquid soothed her parched insides. The red sand always did a number on her, whether it was integrated into her body or not.

"So what now?" she asked her captor, eager to know what her future held. Obviously it wouldn't be death considering he had already done more to take care of her with the simple gestures than any of her kind had in decades.

"Blood Pack is dead and gone" he commented, as if commenting on the station's temperature instead of the emip war it had been. He pointed over to the krogan she had shot in the back, "obviously you aren't all that broken up about it." She scoffed at the implication, spitting on one of the dead krogan at her feet. "So what do you want to do now? Head back to your clan on Thuchanka?"

"I have no clan" she said with no feeling in her voice, crossing her arms as she leaned back against the wall. "I left that all behind when I realized all they wanted to do was fight each other and bitch about how the salarians and turians will get what's coming." She began to slowly pace, casually kicking bodies out of her way until she had created an empty lane to walk in. "I might be clanless right now, but one day I'll become powerful enough that others will flock to me and I'll start the Chul clan. It's why I came to Omega. This is the biggest collection of krogan outside of the home planet. I figured if I was going to attract a good mate than this was my best shot."

Shepard snorted, unable to suppress the smile as she spoke. Her drive reminded him of Wrex as he worked to unite the krogan clans into something more. "Was the biggest collection" he observed, earning a punch in the arm from the pacing krogan.

"What a glorious battle though!" she exclaimed, holding both arms out to encompass all the carnage that littered the hallway. "This is the type of fight that stories are made about. All krogan wish their end will be as good as this."

The door to the VIP Lounge chose that moment to open and disgorge it's dangerous inhabitant. Aria slunk from the rook mike a viper searching for its next meal, her head scanning the area for any threats before stowing her weapon as she saw her best contractor standing in a veritable field of Blood Pack bodies. "I absolutely love how through of a job you do Adam"" the asari complimented as she sauntered towards him. Her feet navigating the dead while still allowing ehr to throw extra emphasis on her hips as if there was nothing wrong with the scene around her. "I'll have to arrange for a special bonus for you later" she purred as she grabbed onto his arm, leaning her body into his.

She blinked as she noticed a lone krogan standing unarmed across from them, the hallway bulkhead hiding her bulk previously. "You missed one" the asari observed, confusion in her voice at the obvious oversight. Shrugging, she raised her hand up, a flare slowly forming as she pointed it at the now tense Chul. The krogan's own biotics activated as she gathered her remaining strength, determined to go out fighting at the very least.

"Please stop" the human said, massaging the bridge of his nose with one hand while using his other to point the confused asari's hand towards the floor. "She's not blood pack. She even killed one of them that I was fighting." Chul held her tongue, his statement technically was true, though it omitted some key details.

Aria tilted her head in confusion, staring at the krogan before turning back to Shepard and really looking at the blood dried on the side of his face. "She's the second in command of the blood pack after Garm. Did you get hit in the head harder than normal? Do we need to get you to the turian loving human for a check up?"

"Yes, I was hit in the head a few times, but that isn't the point" Shepard argued, eyes on the prize. "Chul renounced her ties to the Blood Pack and the battle she and I fought was simply something I owed her after the bad ending of our last fight. Besides, you know I heal fast" he explained as he poured some of the water in his bottle over his head and used a sleeve to wipe it off. The two women stared in wonder as the blood washed away, revealing undamaged skin underneath it.

The asari pulled herself away from the human, squaring up across from the krogan as her queen persona began to come to the forefront again. "So what now?" She questioned, hands on her hips as she managed to look down on the bigger being. She ignored the sigh of the infuriating man next to her. He may have caught her at a vulnerable moment but that is no excuse to not be the alpha in the room! "The other group willing to hire you here is gone. What will you bring to the table to make you worthy of working for me?"

Chul simply shook her head, amused that the asari automatically thought she would join up. "I'm not joining your team Queen. I'm joining his" she finished pointing at Shepard as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What?" the asari questioned in disbelief, her eyebrow twitching at the implied message of someone being stronger than herself.

"You are?" Shepard asked in astonishment, his skin paling as he felt the Queen of Omega's gaze drilling into the side of his head.

Chul rolled her eyes at the confusion over something that should be so obvious to a krogan. "He beat me" she explained slowly, as if to children. "Twice. And he spared me while showing me kindness. Therefore he cares about my well being. That is exactly how a leader of a krantt takes care of his team mates. I will be part of his from now on."

"I'll allow this, only because of him though" Aria said, her nose in the air. "And you" she turned towards Shepard "can forget about me owing you one. We are even now." With her authority firmly back in place, she sauntered back towards the door to the VIP lounge. The new guards at the entrance nodded to her before opening the door and allowing her to enter her new lair.

"That went better than I thought it would have!" the krogan observed happily. "The clans would have demanded blood before letting a clanless into their ranks. Thanks Boss!" she smacked Adam on the back, almost sending him into the ground as he stumbled to right himself.

"Fuck it." the former Spectre mumbled to himself, "I don't care anymore. You know where my office is?" he asked, getting a quick nod from the dinosaur that was now glued to his side. "Go handle your business and report there at 2000 for a meet and greet with the rest of the team." Chul happily nodded before heading off to go collect her belongings from the Blood Pack barracks before the looters arrived. "Bring Booze!" he shouted after her, hoping she heard his final command.

His omnitool buzzed as he began his trek back towards his apartment, a shower and some food in his future. Jien Garson's face appeared as the call connected, his future boss studying his appearance. "You look like shit" she observed, only to begin giggling as he gave her a deadpan stare. "This isn't a social call" she said, bringing herself back under control. "It's time to start contributing to the Initiative and I have something that you're going to need to take the lead on."

"Fine" Adam agreed, too tired to put up and sort of fight. "My team's grown since we've talked, and I need to give you the names to get background checks started on them. Send me the details and I'll check back in after we get underway tonight."

 _Tonight?_ Eve messaged him, still plugged in to monitor him even if she wasn't physically present. _Why not in the next few hours?_

"Because" Adam said out loud as he shuffled back towards his home, knowing she could hear him just fine, "We're not putting off the conversation regarding you and Zoe and longer." He paused, thinking for a second before moving on. "And we're all getting drunk."

 **A/N: Had a few free hours and wanted to get this out of my head and down on paper before I moved on to other stories. Working on a BioShock/Fallout crossover at the moment before I get back into Galaxy. Hope you all are having an awesome day. Tip for the day: Never use Guinness as a replacement for milk when eating lucky charms before bed. You'll hallucinate… Badly…**


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